The Legend of the Spider
by HandAssassinSpider-man
Summary: Republic City is unlike any other city in the world its amongst one of if not the most diverse city on earth and the idea that people from every nation can come together and live in harmony. But like every other city in history it has its fair share of problems and one Pinadao Parkah is about to soon learn that the criminal element is the least of his concerns, spider powers or not
1. Chapter 1

So this will be a sort of alternative take on a Spider-man being in the world of the Avatar, but instead of taking place during the events of Avatar the Last Airbender, this story takes place during the Legend of Korra. Here Peter will be called Piandao Parkah who happens to be of Fire Nation and Water Tribe descent. Fire Nation on his mother's side and Water Tribe on his Father's side.

Here Pete's Spider-man suit will be the Spider-man Noir suit which seems fitting in my opinion, plus it looks badass, here's to one day getting a Spider-man Noir movie or full fledge game. Like L.A. Noir meets the Arkham games.

The pairing of this story will be Piandao x Asami Sato x Korra.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Legend of Korra characters seen, mentioned or used.

* * *

Piandao Parkah often wondered what he did to deserve such bad luck in his life. The young teenager did his homework, studied every night, passed every test he was given with a perfect score and on a few occasions near perfect score when he would fall behind sometimes, and listened to his Aunt Mai and Uncle Bato. He never got into the 'bad crowd' as his aunt and uncle would put it and did everything he could to avoid trouble, but sadly it was normally trouble finding him and making his near non-existent social life even worse than before.

"Oi, get back here Parkah!" a large brute of a teen said as he and two others chased after a rather small and lankly looking brown haired teenager that was covered in a multitude of bruises, dirt and a few burns on his school uniform, along with a large wet stain placed on the front of his pants by one of his tormentors that just happens to also be a Waterbender.

' _Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!'_ Piandao thought with growing fear as he adjusted his falling glasses while he raced through an alleyway not far from where the school he was attending was.

Just a few minutes ago, school had finally let out for the day and Piandao was on his way home when he saw a group of the school's Pro-bending players harassing a small freshman. Piandao, being the idiot that he was at the time, at least he thinks he was, told the guys to stop and leave the young boy alone. To no one's surprise, they didn't either hear or really just didn't care what Piandao said and kept harassing the kid until Piandao finally had enough and went right up to one of the larger teens and did something that sealed his fate.

He smacked him in the back of the head with one of his books that he pulled from his bag!

The good news was that it took the bullies attention off the freshman who didn't hesitate to make a break for it as if Koh himself was after his face…

The bad news was that Piandao had now earned the contempt of the larger teens and sadly given his less then stellar physical strength and height, his attack on the lager Earthbender didn't even so much as phase the man. So after a rather one sided beatdown that Piandao just barely managed to escape, he rushed off towards the nearest alley in hopes of losing his pursuers.

Sadly, the seemed especially determine to get Piandao after what he did.

' _This is what I get for being the good guy… sometimes I can't help but wonder why I even bother'_ Piandao thought as he leaped over a few trash cans while trying to avoid getting blasted by a few small fire balls shot at him by one of the gaining bullies _'I mean it wasn't my business, meaning I should have stayed out of it. Especially if it meant not getting the tar kicked out of me by the school's entire Pro-bending team!'_

Piandao was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't notice that the earthbender that he hit earlier had slammed his foot into the ground, uprooting the entire ground in front of him and his gang, and it just so happened to be where Piandao was.

"Whoa!" Piandao yelled out as he suddenly lost his footing and fell face first into the ground. Before he could move his arms and legs were suddenly encased in rocks, causing him to pale as his tormenters approached him with varying degrees of amusement.

"Heh, I'll give you this Parkah…" one of the guys said in-between pants "You fast… for a non-bender"

"Heh maybe that's his bending" the waterbender of the group chuckled as he crouched down next to Parkah and pinned his head to the ground with a sneer "Running like a scared little girl"

Piandao tried to free himself but found the rock bindings remaining steadfast as he was surrounded by the large teens. Piandao paled as he saw the firebender of the team hold up a small flame towards Piandao's face with a dark grin.

"Let's see if the bookworm and burn like an actual book yeah?"

Piandao closed his eyes and waited for the searing pain to start as the flame began to move towards his face before suddenly he felt a powerful tremor followed by the sounds of his would-be tormenters yelping in shock and soon pain and the sounds of fire blasts, chunks of earth being torn from the ground and sent at something and the distinct sound of a spool and a cable flying through the air which meant one thing to Piandao.

' _The police!'_ Piandao thought as he opened his eyes to see all of his attackers on the ground, each of them restrained and beaten with a single older woman standing above them with an unimpressed look on her face. She was garbed in what looked like the standard uniform worn by the City's Metalbending Police force but black instead of grey and had gold trimming.

"Kids these days…" she said as she glanced at Piandao and frowned before she made a slight gesture of her hand that broke the stone holding his hands and feet "You alright?"

Piandao nodded, stupefied at the woman's appearance "Uh yeah…"

The woman nodded before looking up as the sound of another Metalbender's spool went off. Piandao looked to see several more officers arriving and what sounded like an airship closing in. The older woman gave the younger men and one woman a dry look.

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever show up and make me drag these three back to the station myself"

"S-Sorry ma'am" one of the officers said with a wince "Still getting used to my gear is all"

"Get used to it quicker kid. Next time it might be worse than a bunch of bullies being jackasses" the woman said before she nodded towards the restrained teens "Make sure their parents are made aware of this on top of their school. Looks like Eastern Range Academy… why am I not surprised"

It was then one of the teens spoke up, the waterbender of the group "Hey we weren't doing anything wrong!"

The older woman glanced down at the teen as he was being picked up by one of the officers "Really, from what I saw you were about to let your friend their burn someone"

"We were just messing around!" the waterbender said with wide eyes as the airship came in overhead and stopped, blanketing the entire alleyway in its shadow.

The woman snorted at this before she wandered over to Piandao who had since stood back up and was busy getting his bag and it's contents back together. One of the straps broke and some of his books and papers fell on to the ground as a result of his falling over earlier. Piandao was about to reach for one of his books before the older woman grabbed it and held it up for her to better see in the low light.

"Advance level biology…" she said with a quirked brow at the title before glancing at Piandao "This is a university level book…"

"Just some light reading" Piandao said as he accepted the book from the amused woman "Also thanks for helping me…"

"No problem" the woman said before she held her hand out "Lin…"

"Piandao" the young teen replied nervously as he gripped the woman's hand and was surprised by just how much strength she had in her grip. This woman could probably break steel with her bare hands, regardless if she was a metalbender!

"Part of being an earthbender and the chief of police" Lin said with a small grin "Tends to make you tough"

Piandao blushed as he realized that he spoke out loud when he realized the woman's strength "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you had non-woman hands or anything, not to say that there's nothing wrong with not having them, I mean it doesn't matter what kind of hands you have. I just, no wait what I'm trying to say is-"

"Heh it's okay Pinadao. I know what you mean" Lin said with a chuckle as she looked to see her men taking the kids up into the airship overhead "Mind explaining why a couple of soon to be expelled kids were beating up on you?"

Piandao looked down at the ground embarrassed "They were… they were picking on another kid and I told them to stop. When they didn't I uh… I um… hit the earthbender in the head with one of my books and well…"

Lin looked at Piandao with a slightly surprised expression before she chuckled "Well I'll give you credit kid. Not many guys your size are willing to stand up to three guys their size"

"I can guess why" Piandao said as he looked down at his appearance and sighed "My aunt's gonna kill me when she sees I got my uniform ruined again"

"I'm sure she'll understand" Lin said as she patted Piandao on the shoulder "Now how far are you from here? I can call a car to take you home"

"That's fine, I uh only live two blocks from here anyhow" Piandao said with a cough as he shouldered his bag and began to walk away before stopping "Wait do I have to give a report or anything?"

"You just did" Lin said as she turned to leave as well "You saw them harassing another kid, you stepped in, they chased you and were gonna hurt you, I stepped in and stopped them. Not all that complicated"

"Do I have to fill out anything?" Piandao asked as Lin shot a cable towards the airship.

"Your fine kid, just get home before dark" Lin said with a grin before she was pulled into the air and towards the departing airship.

Piandao watched her go for a second before he turned and began to silently make his way back home.

…

Piandao's home, and the surrounding neighborhood, wasn't much to brag about, hell he was willing to bet that some of the homeless guys in the nearby parks had more to brag about then him and his Aunt and Uncle. Their house, which was one of the many left over homes from the industrial boom that Republic City went through fifty years earlier, wasn't very large. The biggest room was the living room which also doubled as the kitchen and dining room.

Piandao and his aunt and uncle's rooms were just above that and they were even smaller to the point that if Piandao stretched his arms out with another person his size right next to him, their fingertips would touch each side of the room.

Piandao carefully made his way up the wood rotted steps and reached for the slightly rusted doorknob and with a bit of effort on Piandao's part, forced the old door open rather loudly, and walked in to see and smell that his Aunt Mai was already cooking dinner.

Piandao's aunt, like his late mother, was of Fire Nation descent, however unlike his mother she wasn't a bender. She still had the dark hair that natives from the island nation possessed along with a slightly pale complexion and amber colored eyes. She wasn't very tall, only reaching Piandao's chin which even then still made her small given the teen's short stature though his uncle often teased that Piandao was just a late bloomer like his father was and would shoot up in no time.

It was then that his aunt Mai called out from the other end of the room heard his Aunt's voice from the other end of the room that was labeled as the kitchen area "Piandao, is that you honey?"

"Yeah, it's me" Piandao said with a tired sigh and looked around for his uncle Bato "Where's uncle Bato?"

"Factory again" his Aunt Mai said as she turned from the old stove and towards her later best friend's son before her eyes widened in shock at the state he was in "By the spirits Piandao, what happened to you?!"

"Tried to do the right thing… gotten beaten up for it" Piandao winced as his aunt rushed over to him and took his slightly bruised face in her small hands.

"Are you okay, is anything broken?" she asked worriedly.

"Other than my bag and my pride? No nothing's broken" Piandao said as he let his aunt turn his head side to side "So uh Uncle Barto pulling another all-nighter?"

His Aunt nodded a little sadly "Yes, thanks to the new factory Future Industries opened up a few blocks away, the old Cabbage Corp factory is starting to lose business and workers to it"

Piandao's eyes widened slightly at that "Did Uncle Bato at least try to-"

"Yes, he tried to get a job with them but all of the positions, even the bad paying ones like damn janitor duty have already been taken" Aunt Mai said with a tired sigh "So he's trying to put more hours in at his current job while it still pays. The upside is that his pay will be a little better given that there's less workers, but that means he'll be pulling double shifts more often"

Piandao nodded a little sad that his uncle was being worked to the bone when by now he should have been retired.

Aunt Mai sighed as she released her nephew's head and waved him towards the small bathroom "Go get clean and then help me out here. Leave your uniform in the tub, I'll fix it up as best I can while you're doing homework"

"Okay…" Piandao said as he placed his bag on the table and made his way to the restroom to wash his face off while his aunt made her way back to the stove to check on the stew they would be having for dinner tonight.

The night passed as it usually did in the Parkah household. Piandao helped his aunt make the stew, they talked about his day at school which in turn caused Piandao to listen to his aunt rant and rave at the school for allowing his beating to happen and hoped that they delinquents were expelled or better yet locked up, a bit of praise towards Republic City's police for helping him. After dinner and with their old radio playing in the background, Piandao would spend the next few hours working on his homework while his aunt would sit across from him and make yet another repair to his school uniform that Piandao knows may be very close to the last time given they were running low on fabric and the shop that his aunt worked at will only let his Aunt take so much left-over fabric home a month.

"So aside from helping a poor young man from getting hurt by a bunch of thugs, did anything else interesting happen at the academy today?" Mai asked as she sewed a large tear up on her nephew's sleeve. She then gave him a small grin "Maybe meet a nice girl?"

Piandao couldn't help but snort at that as he rechecked his advance chemistry assignment paper and biology essay for any possible mistakes he made "No Aunt Mai, I haven't met your supposed future niece in-law"

"Drat…" Mai sighed exaggeratedly.

Piandao chuckled at that before his smile dropped and he glanced around at their small home "Besides Aunt Mai, I don't think any girl I happen to get a date with will stick around too long…"

"Why would that be?" Mai asked with confusion before she sighed "Most of the girls who go to your school live in homes just as big and in some cases even smaller than ours"

"Yeah and most of them are part of the crowd you want me to avoid" Piandao said as he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes "You and Uncle Bato made it very clear you don't want me to end up possibly marrying some brothel girl in training"

Mai blushed at that "I didn't say that exactly…"

"Your right… that was a more appropriate way of saying it compared to the rather nasty insults you had thrown into that comment" Piandao chuckled.

"Oh hush you, if you think I'm bad, you should have seen your mother's reaction when she and I first moved here and saw the quality of most of the girls living around here" Mai said with a small smile at the memory "My father used to be a sailor and even he would blush at some of the things she said…"

"Heh…" Piandao chuckled a little before he looked up from his work at his aunt "By the way, how did you and my mom meet? I mean I know you two met on the way from the Fire Nation to here, but you never went into exact detail"

"That's because I spent half the boat ride over here drunk sweetie" Mai said with a laugh "I absolutely hate boats, ships and even worse, those pesky submarines"

"So, I take it you two met while you were busy puking your guts out over the side of the railings" Piandao said with a small grin.

"…Something like that" Mai said with a grin before they both heard the door open and looked to see Bato entering "Oh thank the spirits…"

"What, why?" Barto asked as he took off his hat and rubbed some oil that was still on his forehead from the assembly line at work.

Mai gave her husband a dry look "Your nephew was asking how I met his mother"

"Oh…" Bato said with a nod before looking towards his late brother's son "I'll tell you when you're older"

"But I'm seventeen" Piandao frowned.

"When you're old enough to drink I'll tell ya" Bato chuckled.

"Why?" Piandao asked with a frown, the drinking age in the Republic was eighteen, so it was only a year, but it still bothered him that he's having to wait so long for an answer. What, did he need to be drunk to understand it or something?

"Trust me kid, you'll need the liquor, Tui and La knows your father and I did when we found out how they met" Bato said tiredly as he sat at the table and yawned "So what fabulous meal did I miss this time dear?"

"Nothing special, just my spicy stew" Mai said with a simple shrug as she went back to repairing Piandao's jacket.

"Mmm…" Bato said before he glanced at his nephew and his eyes narrowed a bit at the bruises "So, whose getting skinned later tonight?"

"Bato…" Mai said with a tired sigh while Piandao avoided his uncle's gaze.

"No one uncle, it's already been taken care of"

Bato gave his nephew a surprised look "Really?"

"Yes, a few officers from the police stopped them from going any farther then they already did and arrested them" Piandao said as he leaned back in his chair and let out a yawn "So you don't have to break out that old machete of yours and sharpen it for anything…"

At this Mai scoffed "Like he could, his brother was the real hunter of the two"

Bato gave his wife a look of mock hurt "Honey…"

Mai chuckled at Bato's expression "Dear, you can barely fish according to your brother. In fact, the one thing you are good at hunting is that atrocious liquor that you and every person from the water tribes seem to like"

"That's… hard to argue against" Bato chuckled before he leaned forward and gave Piandao a small pat on the shoulder "All right sport, head on up for bed. You gotta a long day tomorrow and I need to talk to your aunt about something"

Piandao nodded as he gathered up his things and placed them in his bag before he stood up from the table and gave his Aunt a kiss on the cheek "Night Aunt Mai… night Uncle Bato…"

"Night Piandao" Bato said with another yawn as he leaned back in his chair.

"Good night dear…" Mai said as she gave Piandao a warm hug and shooed him away towards his room.

The couple watched the young man make his way into his room before he closed the door and shut off the light inside. As a precaution they waited a few minutes before they spoke in slightly hushed tones.

"I found some work…" Bato said carefully.

Mai stopped in her sewing and sighed "Please tell me it isn't with 'them' again Bato, please"

"Well not exactly…" Bato said with a tired sigh as he leaned on the table with an exhausted look on his face "The local triad wants me to work as a sort of glorified security guard at this underground fighting ring they have up and running down by the docks on weekends"

"Bato!" Mai said in a harsh whisper towards the man, her glare was hot enough that for a moment the old water tribesman actually thought he'd ignite in a shower of flames "You told me that you were done working with them!"

"I know but Mai, the factory won't be open much longer and the pay I was hoping to get was cut by the managers to keep the power going longer" Bato said tiredly before he glanced at Piandao's door "Right now the only money we have is the small amount in that safe of yours under our bed and Piandao's school money and I'm not going to start jeopardizing his education because I can't provide some damn money for us. I'm not going to let him end up like me and his father when we were his age, bunch of damn Opium hustlers or worse…"

"But Bato, if you do this, you're just going to get swiped up in all of the debts and favors they'll drag you into. You're not as young as you used to be, and the rules have changed since your time with those animals. These men **will** kill you if you mess up in any way" Mai said wordily "And that's you, Agni knows what they'll do to me or worse Piandao!"

"I know that" Bato snapped at Mai before he stopped himself from going any farther and held his head in his hands "I know dear… but I promised that boy's parents that I'd do whatever it took to provide for him and keep him safe. As you just saw on his face, I already failed at one of those things and now I'm on the verge of failing at the other. Mai… my family had an old saying and that 'With great power, comes great responsibility'." Bato said as he rubbed his brow tiredly "It's my responsibility to use all of the power that I have, both literally and figuratively, to keep Piandao safe and happy… how could I look my brother in the eye, either here or in the next world, if I can't do that?"

Mai was silent for a few minutes as she stared down at the table for a few minutes in deep silence before she looked up sadly at her husband "Bato… please… just please promise me you'll be careful out there. You almost died trying to get out the first time, I'm not so certain you'll pull it off a second time"

"I know dear… I know…" Bato said as he stood up and pulled his wife into a tight embrace.

Unknown to the two of them, Piandao had heard every word of their conversation as he slowly pulled away from his door and returned to his bed. He was originally planning to get a drink before heading off to sleep but his Aunt and Uncle's conversation had effectively destroyed his thirst…

Piandao laid in his bed, his eyes on the chipped paint ceiling before he glanced out his small window to see the distant skyscrapers of central portion of the city. After a few minutes of staring at the tall distant towers of the city, Piandao turned on his side with a tired sigh and slowly fell asleep, wondering how he could help his Aunt and Uncle. He knew it had to be more than doing good in school, the question was what?

…

* * *

And done.

Next chapter, Piandao attends a class field trip a few days later to one of the old temples at the edge of Republic City and makes an interesting discovery…

And for those wondering just what exactly Piandao's home and neighborhood looks like, just look up images of the crap living conditions during the industrial revolution, that's pretty much it in a handbasket.

Also yeah, I took down the CW chronicles story but I plan to repost it, a more revised and better put together version at least with a few minor and major alterations. I wrote myself into a corner with that story and I want to change it up a bit. So until then, enjoy watching Pinadao slowly become this world's Spider-man and kick some major ass in ways that are sure to be epic.

Also lots of drama in his luck with women… just because he's in another universe don't mean his infamous Parker Luck won't be there to kick him in the teeth at the worst times just to spite him and reward the spider powered teen in odd yet awesome ways!


	2. Chapter 2

Answers to reviewers' questions or statements:

 **kival737101** : That would make for an interesting story…

 **Marveldcfan** : No there won't be any prejudice views of the rich from Piandao, he's no that petty. No his actions as Spider-man or well the Spider here will be the same as when he's in his old red and blue suit, still that doesn't mean there won't be a few moments where he'll go the extra mile or two.

 **RexBlazer1** : Most of the chapters will be around that length, maybe a little longer.

 **Movienerd74** : I could possibly add Powergirl, would that be just as good?

 **Antihero1610** : Hmm not a bad idea to be honest, still gonna have to wait to see how Infinity war plays out before doing said story.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Legend of Korra characters seen, mentioned or used.

* * *

Asami Sato, daughter of the famous Hiroshi Sato, the founder of Future Industries, found it difficult to resist the urge to bang her head against the table. At that moment, she was sitting next to her father at the world famous Kwong's Cuisine, a high-end restaurant located in downtown Republic City.

Normally, Asami would welcome a chance to have a meal with her father. Sadly, today, she was forced to share her father's attention with a representative to a company operating out of Ba Sing Se. Said company rep worked for the Harmonic Associative and Negotiating Directive.

 _'That has to be the most awkward name I've ever heard a company having, and our main competitor is Cabbage Corp for crying out loud!'_ Asami thought with a small and incredulous smile as she glanced at her father. Currently, both men were in a detailed discussing about adding armor to a new class of Airships that Future Industries was building for the Harmonic Associative and Negotiating Directive. To the young Miss Sato, this was something that she found very odd.

 _'Why would a humanitarian organization need armored Airships?'_ Asami thought, a small frown adorning her face as she pretended to idly play with her food while actually listening in. _'I mean, sure, they operate in some less-than-stable locations with some less-than-friendly natives, but they're asking for Dad to take their ships and practically turn them into borderline warships!'_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone call her name. She blinked in surprise and turned to see that it was her father who called her.

"Oh, sorry, I was busy thinking. What did you say?"

Hiroshi chuckled in amusement as he nodded towards the representative, "Mr. Nobu here was just telling me that he's quite impressed with some of the new Satomobile designs you've submitted to our R and D department."

"Oh," Asami blinked in surprise before she gave Mr. Nobu a nod and kind smile, "Thank you, I just hope they actually work."

"Nonsense," Mr. Nobu said with a grin, "If half of what your father's told me is true about you, Miss Sato, they'll be top of the line. Heh, at this rate, Cabbage Corp. may end up running out of business after they're made available to the public."

Asami chuckled at the man's remark as he and her father went back to discussing their upcoming deal.

"I must say, Mr. Nobu, I'm deeply honored that you chose to work with us in helping both remodel and redesign your entire Airship fleet," Hiroshi said, wiping some of his spicy Komodo rhino stew off his lips with a white napkin.

"Please, the honor is ours," Mr. Nobu responded with a grin, taking a sip of his wine. "Tis a pity that my employer couldn't make it here to discuss these matters with you in person, but sadly his wife has fallen ill, and he couldn't bear to be apart from her at this time."

"I understand…" Hiroshi said, a somber tone in his voice "…I do hope she gets well soon. No man should have to suffer such a loss."

"Indeed…" Mr. Nobu nodded in agreement.

As the two continued to discuss further meetings and ideas, Asami idly hummed to herself as she chose to focus her attention on the various other people in the restaurant that day. She could make out what appeared to be Councilman Tarrlok, a representative from the Northern Water Tribe, over in a booth with what looked like two women of Earth Kingdom descent, a couple of people that usually attend her father's parties, and what looked like Lau Gan-Lan, the current owner of Cabbage Corp. It was then that Asami saw several new people enter the room and her eyes narrowed in interest and anger at their appearance. While they were dressed nicely, in accordance with Kwong's very strict dress code, she could also make out quite a few tattoos on their necks, one of which went up a man's face and ended in a fanged maw on his forehead. The other man possessed several piercings, the placement of which almost caused Asami to wince.

It was obvious the men were Triads, or at least very high-ranking members of them. Based on the red Fire Nation attire they had on and the location of Kwong's Cuisine, they were most likely the Agni-Kai's. They were also the Triad who had killed Asami's mother when she was younger, after they had broken into her family's estate.

Asami felt the grip on her fork tighten as she watched the group of men make their way farther back towards one of the more private booths. It was then that one of the members seemed to feel Asami's glare on his back and turned in her direction. She turned, however, before the man could make eye contact with her, and focused her attention on her father and Nobu, who seemed unaware of the recent arrivals in the restaurant.

"Dad," Asami said, touching his arm.

"Yes, what is it?" Hiroshi asked, glancing at his daughter with a mixture of curiosity and worry.

"Can, um… can I go?" Asami asked.

Hiroshi's eyes widened with surprise at this, "Is something the matter dear?"

"No…just lost my appetite is all," Asami said with a small sigh.

Then, she saw her father's brow furrow in confusion, right before darkening. Now, it was obvious that his gaze had gone over her shoulder, right at the booth where the Agni Kai's were situated.

"Oh…I see," Hiroshi said before nodding, "Yes, you may go."

"Is something the matter?" Nobu asked with a raised brow.

Hiroshi shook his head as Asami got up, "No, my daughter just isn't feeling too well at the moment."

"Heh, am I really that repulsive?" Nobu joked, causing Asami to chuckle.

"No, Mister Nobu, you're quite fine. I just need a little air is all," Asami explained as she put on her coat.

"Of course," Nobu said with a nod, "I do hope you feel better Miss Sato. A day without your smile is like a lifetime in Koh's lair!"

"Heh, I'm sure," Asami blushed a little at the compliment.

"Asami, you can take the car. I'll have one of our drivers to pick me up afterwards," Hiroshi said as placed the car key in her hand.

The Sato heiress nodded and turned, making her way towards the entrance, but not before catching one of the Agni Kai's eyeing her up. Asami returned his stare with a dark scowl, actually causing the man to flinch before returning his attention to the menu before him.

 _'Funny how quick they're willing to back down when someone pushes back,'_ Asami thought as she exited the restaurant and into the cool air of Republic City. She took a deep breath before she turned on her heel, making her way to the private garage that held the various Satomobiles the diners of Kwong's Cuisine used.

Several minutes later, Asami was casually cruising down one of the many busy, car-filled roads of Republic City as a news report played on the radio. She didn't pay it much mind. In her opinion, half of what was on didn't interest her, and there were no Pro-Bending matches being held that night. It was as she was turning down Roku Parkway that her attention was drawn to the radio.

 _"…In other news, we have received confirmation that the series of house fires that have broken out in Dragon's burrow were the result of a firebender connected to the local Triple Threats Triad. The identity of the perpetrator remains unknown, but the revelation that a firebender has been causing the destruction of several families' homes has done little to curb the growing resentment of benders in the surrounding areas who harbor strong anti-bending sentiments…"_

"Great…more fuel for the Equalists to use in their rallies," Asami said with an eye roll a she came to a stop at a traffic light. Several weeks ago, Asami made the mistake of attending a small rally of the 'Equalist' in Republic City Park and safe to say, Asami was less than impressed.

All the man kept going on and on about was how Benders had ruined the world and that all 'Non-benders' were being like second class citizens.

"If that were the case, then me and my family wouldn't be here now," Asami thought aloud as she hit the gas pedal once the light turned to green. "And no one seems to bother addressing the fact that this city and the entirety of the Republic exists because of Avatar Aang…the ultimate bender…"

It always amazed Asami how quick people could forget those little details…

It was then that she heard several car horns going off behind her. Asami looked at the rear-view mirror to see a red and green Satomoblie rushing through the traffic. Her eyes narrowed at the model, recognizing it as one of the Roadsters. It was then that she heard and saw several police cars in pursuit of the open-air luxury vehicle. Asami's grip on the wheel tightened more and more as the Satombile closed in on her car, all while several taxies around her pulled out of the way to avoid being hit.

 _'Dad's really mad about this…'_ Asami thought with a sigh.

She then suddenly turned into the path of the Roadster, forcing its driver to hit the brakes and swerve out of the way, right into the side of a parked truck.

Asami winced at the impact. Metal and glass went flying, including one of the wheels of the Roadster. The driver slammed into the steering wheel, and the passenger next to him went face first into the window, nearly going through it before falling back down into his seat. The young heiress slammed her foot down on the brakes of her own car and came to a skidding stop a few dozen meters away from the crash. The police cars that were in pursuit of the vehicle arrived shortly afterwards, all of them quickly stopping around it and cutting off any chances for escape.

Several metalbenders emerged from the various cars and moved in on the damaged car. Another began to make his way towards Asami, who was busy watching several metalbending police rip the doors off the Roadster, shoot their metal cables into the seating area, and then drag the wounded men out.

"That was a brave thing you did miss," the officer said as he came to stand next to Asami's car.

"Uh, you're welcome," she replied with a sheepish smile.

She then glanced back at the men being dragged towards one of the police cars. One of them, the driver from the look of it, tried to resist and shot out a blast of fire from his raised leg before another metalbender restrained him with more cables.

"Who are they?"

The officer followed her gaze towards the scene and frowned, "Just a couple of punks from the Triple-Threat Triads giving people trouble again. These two stole a man's car and decided to take it for a joyride. We'd just about chased them halfway through the city before you stepped in."

 _'Cool,'_ Asami thought before she realized something, "Wait, that's not their car?"

"Nope," he simply said.

"Then whose is it?" Asami asked with a frown.

The police officer gave her an unsure look before he answered "It belonged to mister Varrick…"

Asami's eyes widened at the name, "Varrick-as in 'Iknik Blackstone Varrick' of Varrick Global Industries-one of the top five wealthiest people in the world?!"

"Uh, yeah…him" the officer nodded.

Asami paled at that before she glanced back at the destroyed car "…My dad's going to kill me."

…

Piandao let out a small yawn as he rested against the window of the bus. He and over a dozen other students from East Range Academy were currently on a field trip to some of the old temples on the outskirts of Republic City. Their destination was towards the base of one of the mountains that surrounded the metropolis.

Normally, Piandao wasn't much for these historic field trips the school would occasionally have, what with its limited budget. He much preferred to work in the small labs set up in some of the chemistry classrooms during lunch. Sadly, the upcoming history test would have questions that focused on the historic sites they were visiting, and if Piandao wanted to pass, he had to attend.

 _'I still don't see how learning the history of three thousand-year-old temples will help me anywhere in life,'_ Piandao thought as he gazed out at the passing landscape.

He wasn't sure how much time passed before the bus finally arrived at the historic site, but when he turned his head, he felt a distinct pop in his neck and caused him to groan. Then, he and the other students sat up and began to slowly pile out. On the way down the small stair case, Piandao felt someone shove him in the back. The sudden action and the force behind the blow sent the young teen falling to the gravel filled ground with a yelp. The impact knocked the wind of out Piandao and caused his glasses to fall off and on to the rocky terrain, resulting in a small crack forming along the lens' edge.

"Heh, watch where you're going, Parkah!" the teenaged perpetrator laughed loudly.

Piandao grumbled as he pushed himself up and grabbed his glasses, placing them back on just as the field trip chaperone exited the bus.

"Enough of the Ostrich Horse play!"

 _'Oh sure, now he comes out and speaks up!'_ Piandao thought, giving a dry look at his history teacher's back as the man began to do roll call. After a few minutes of making sure everyone was there the teacher turned towards the group and gestured towards the nearby temples.

"Today, class, we will be exploring several ancient temples that were created in honor of Avatar Juri, a woman that lived over three thousand years ago," the man said, gesturing for the group to follow him towards the first and largest building in the complex, all the while going on and on about Avatar Juri.

Piandao for the most part was trying to listen, even though history wasn't exactly his forte. However, the constant whispering and snickering of his classmates made it difficult. All he could get was that a group of people during the 'Warring States' Period had built this temple after Avatar Juri fought an ancient and powerful spider spirit that had been plaguing them for decades.

During this time, Piandao took the opportunity to also examine the architecture, seeing that while it was mainly Earth Kingdom in design, he thought he picked up a few stylistic alterations that were commonly seen in the Air Nomad temples.

'Maybe they had some help in making these-' Piandao thought before he suddenly tripped over a small vine that was clinging low to the floor "Ow…"

Several students broke out in laughter as Piandao picked himself up off the ground and brushed some of the dirt from his pants and jacket.

"Man, Parkah, I think you need new glasses. I mean a badger mole could have seen that coming," one of the teens mocked at Piandao, making him grumble a bit.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that after my family hit's the jackpot and we move next to the Sato mansion," Piandao said as he adjusted his glasses. Then he followed after the departing students towards another section of the temple. This one contained old statues of the Avatar, the original priests of this temple, and apparently of the spider spirit.

Most of the statutes were old and broken. Some of the carvings on them and the walls had long since faded, with what remained being just barely understandable. Half an hour passed as the history teacher gave, in Piandao's opinion, rather bland histories of the various priests. The only story that was remotely interesting was Avatar Juri, but even then, most of the good parts of her lifetime didn't happen until towards the end of her life, like her fight with the spider spirit.

The spider spirit, or at least the statue itself, was another matter entirely. Just its very appearance was fascinating, as it looked unlike any sort of spider that Piandao had ever seen before. Its thorax was triangular in appearance and ended in a large stinger, not too dissimilar from a Buzzard Wasp. It possessed seven eyes, three on each side of its face and one in the center that was almost twice the size of any of the others. The mouth contained a set of pinchers and a second jaw within its teeth-filled maw and, according to the teacher, was said to possess a type of burning venom capable of killing a creature the size of an elephant koi fish.

'Something tells me that this thing was a lot more impressive in real life,' Piandao thought as he gazed up at the statue. It wasn't very large, only the size of a typical Satomobile. Perhaps it was a little smaller, which beguiled its true size when it walked the earth, if the faded images on the wall were anything to go by.

While Piandao examined the statue a little closer, his gaze was drawn towards the mouth, he saw a small hole roughly the size of his fist in it. He was tempted to put his hand inside and pretend it was being eaten by the large spider statue, but the sound of the teacher's voice calling him and several others over stopped him.

 _'Oh well, maybe next time,'_ Piandao thought as he turned away from the statue and followed after the rest of the class. Unknown to Piandao, a small spider was watching him from the hole in the statue, one that looked like a miniature version of the spirit itself.

The spider's glowing eyes seemed to zero in on Piandao's form before it's center eye glowed brightly for a moment, and it let out a small hiss. Slowly emerging from the hole, it glanced around at its surroundings before it leaped from the statue onto the floor, silently following after Piandao, an unseen force driving it.

Unaware of a small spider trailing after him, Piandao followed the other students throughout other parts of the temple complex. The tour passed through a large room that once held long rituals supposedly meant to keep the spirit of the spider and other negative beings away. It also served as a place to offer enlightenment to any traveler passing through. Hours passed as the tour dragged on and Piandao found himself struggling to stay awake through it all. Finally, after passing through what was once the temple priests' quarters, the tour came to an end, and the teacher told the group to begin heading back to the bus.

Piandao let out a small yawn, following after the rest before he felt something tug on his leg. Stopping, he glanced down, but saw that nothing was there.

"Hmm, must be my imagination…" Piandao muttered to himself, shrugging before walking back to the bus. Unbeknownst to him, the small spider was quickly making its way up his bag. It was doing everything in its power to keep the human from noticing its presence, taking the lightest steps possible and only moving when Piandao passed under a shadow to cover its advancement.

It was after Piandao had exited the building and saw the bus up ahead that the small spider picked up the pace and made its move. Without warning, it leapt onto Piandao's arm, catching his attention. In the blink of an eye, it raced down his lanky limb to his exposed hand and sunk it's fangs into his flesh.

"GAAH!" Piandao shouted in painful surprise as he swatted the spider away. He held his hand close to his chest as white-hot pain flashed through it. Gritting his teeth for several moments, the pain lingered for a moment before it died down enough for him to glance down at the bite. He could make out two small distinct holes from where the spider bit him, along with small streams of blood trickling out.

Piandao grumbled as he took the edge of his jacket and pressed it tightly against the wound and began to look around the ground for any signs of the eight-legged menace.

The spider watched from the safety of the nearby grass as Piandao glanced around for it. Clutching his hand and sighing in aggravation, he saw that the rest of his class was boarding the bus. Cursing under his breath, he rushed off to catch the bus before it possibly left him at the temple. The spider watched the young teen go for a moment before it began to ever so slowly fade away until there was nothing left, it's unknown task seemingly complete…

Piandao reached the bus as the teacher was about to get on, still clutching his hand and trying to keep his mind focused.

 _'You see, this…this is why I hate going on these field trips!'_ Piandao thought angrily to himself, looking down at his hand again as he climbed up the bus's steps and wandered over to his seat. He did his best to ignore some of the other students snickering at him until one of them spoke up.

"You okay there, Parkah? You're looking a little pasty" the teen said with a chuckle.

Piandao glanced at the larger boy and recognized him as one of the new kids that replaced the old Pro-bending team that got expelled the other day.

"I'm fine…" Piandao said as he sat down, keeping his hand covered.

"Whatever you say, Pasty Parkah" the teen chuckled again. Soon, the rest of his friends joined in, chanting 'Pasty Parkah' over and over again until he faintly heard one of the kids say that he'll let the others know about Piandao's new nickname.

 _'I hate my life sometimes…'_ Piandao thought with a sigh as he rested against the window, watching as the bus pulled away from the old complex. They began to slowly make their way back to the main road, and from there, Republic City.

Piandao took a quick peak of his hand and frowned at the amount of swelling it had. He was tempted to say something to the teacher, but really, what was the point? It's not like the school's healer could do anything, and his family couldn't afford to go to a professional healer at the local clinic.

 _'Besides it probably wasn't poisonous. Most toxic spiders live further south and don't grow as large as the one that bit me…I should be fine…'_ Piandao thought as he closed his eyes and rested against the cool glass of the window. _'Yeah…perfectly fine…'_

…

Several hours later, Piandao was slowly making his way towards his home. This feat was proving to be difficult, what with his vison starting to blur. His hand hurt like hell, and the bite had long since swollen until it was a puffy, angry red-looking color. He also felt his entire arm had gone numb, even though he could still move it, and not to mention it felt like he was standing in a sauna. Already, he had to stop several times to cool off and wipe a large amount of sweat from both his brow and off his fogged glasses.

"Okay, it's official…I'm not fine…" Piandao said to himself as he placed his glasses back on his face before he kept moving. The sun was starting to go down and he did not want to be out here like he was now when it did.

 _'Just another block… just one more block and I'll be home,'_ Piandao thought as he did his best to keep an eye out for trouble.

At the far end of the street were a few guys that looked to be part of the local triad, the Terra Triads. One of the members, a slim-sized man had a small stone hovering over his hand as he and his friends watched Piandao for a few moments. Then, they shook their heads, seeming to come to some sort of agreement that he wasn't worth their time, and then went back to doing whatever it is they did.

 _'Being hoodlums for starters…'_ Piandao thought with a small chuckle. Sadly, his amusement was quickly cut off by a small hiss from his mouth as pain flashed across his eyes. He stopped and braced himself against the side of a building as he tried to focus, the ground becoming blurry one second and clear the next before it settled on something in between.

"Just keep walking Piandao, just keep walking…" he repeated to himself quietly as he kept one hand against the wall, keeping his balance as he slowly made his way towards his home.

Finally, after several long painful minutes, Piandao finally reached the door to his home. He grabbed the doorknob when his bitten hand flared up again in ache. Piandao was about to scream when he quickly silenced himself, letting out a very pained groan as his entire limb throbbed in agony. Minutes passed as Piandao stood gritting his teeth in discomfort, shakily reaching for the doorknob, turning it, and shoving the door open, unaware that his grip on the old rusted knob had caused it to crack.

"Aunt Mai… I'm home," Piandao said, doing his best to sound fine when in actuality he felt like what Fire Lord Ozai must have experienced after he had his bending removed by Avatar Aang.

His Aunt was at the table with a small book in her hands. The older woman looked up at Piandao and gave him a smile before she suddenly noticed how he looked.

"Are you okay Piandao?" Aunt Mai asked worriedly, seeing how pale her nephew was. She quickly stood up and approached him as he tried to make a beeline for his room.

"Yeah, I'm fine Aunt Mai. I'm just…a little under the weather is all," Piandao said with a cough before giving the older woman a reassuring smile, or the best he could manage at the moment, "Nothing to worry about, really!"

"Piandao, you look like you've contracted the plague" Aunt Mai said as she stepped closer to her nephew and placed a hand on his forehead, frowning at the heat she could feel coming off him. "And you're running a fever-a pretty bad one from the looks of it."

Piandao sighed as he removed his aunt's hand, "Aunt Mai, it's probably just the flu or something. Nothing that a little sleep won't fix…and maybe some of the stew of yours."

The older woman looked unconvinced. She was about to voice her doubts before Piandao suddenly turned and nearly ran into his room and shut the door. After a few moments, she sighed and began to make her way towards the kitchen area to whip something up for her nephew for when he was feeling a little better. She also checked to see if she and Bato still had any medicine left over that she could give the boy later.

Inside Piandao's room, the young teen wiped some building sweat off his brow as he removed his sweat-drenched shirt and collapsed onto his bed with a huff. His head hurt like someone took a hammer to it several times before jumping on it. The pain was making it difficult to concentrate and see straight.

"This…is…why…I…hate…history," Piandao said, feeling his eyes grow heavy, becoming a struggle to keep open.

He lazily glanced down at his spider bite, seeing that the swelling had gone down a bit, though it still looked just as bad as earlier. The color of his skin was distorted, and he could've sworn that he could make out faint traces of puss emanating from the two small fang holes.

"Just what the hell was that thing? It didn't look like any spider I've seen before…" Piandao said quietly to himself, staring at the bite wound as darkness began to creep into his vision. His eyes slowly closed, and his breathing slowed as, unbeknownst to him, his body began to slowly but surely, change into something else...

…

* * *

And…done!

Next chapter, Piandao awakens to find that the spider bite he received as left a few interesting side effects…


	3. Chapter 3

Answers to reviewers' questions or statements:

 **treyalexander63917** : There might be a bit of tension between Piandao, Brolin and Mako over Korra as Asami will be with Piandao by the time Korra arrives in Republic City which in turn will cause a bit of tension between Korra and Asami over Piandao later on. Parker luck at it's finest!

 **Mezazra** : Honestly, I just chose the name because I liked it but yeah you can imagine her homicidal ass as the Avatar at one point. Just imagine Aang going to her for help in regards to how to stop Ozai and she replies 'Rip his teeth out and stomp on his skull till it breaks!'

 **Cloud4012** : Yeah he'll be part of Team Avatar and he'll meet Asami soon, like within the next four chapters or so.

 **Movienerd74** : I can think of two big reasons why people prefer Power Girl over Supergirl more…

 **DarkLordZay** : I have a story where he's the son of Darkseid and I'm thinking of making a Lord of the Rings crossover with Spider-man in that he's the son of Morgoth and Ungoliant, would that be good?

 **Sam Strife** : Piandao will be getting a job at Future Industries at some point, as for him getting any sort of Bending from the Spider bite, tempting but for now it'll be just his spider powers he'll have at his disposal.

 **Marveldcfan** : He might later on in the story. The spider spirit chose Piandao for a reason, it'll be a good while until it's revealed.

 **Charles Ceaser** : Yeah, he's about as smart, granted he won't be making nearly half the things that his mainstream counterpart can like a stealth suit or something but that's because of technology being limited rather than him not being smart enough.

 **DrOdd** : No, she won't.

 **Erofox** : Perhaps.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Legend of Korra characters seen, mentioned or used.

* * *

The first thing that Piandao felt when he woke up was a splitting headache.

His head throbbed like someone took a hammer to it and everything sounded too loud and too bright. When eh first opened his eyes, the young teen thought he'd go blind at the small bit of sun light entering his room and hitting him near the eye.

"GAH, why is the sun so bright!" Piandao grumbled as he sat up and ran a hand over his face before he moved to sit on the edge of his bed.

Piandao glanced down at his hand to see that the spite bite had seemingly vanished and he skin looked good as new, no longer pale and infected looking. He made a faint hum at this as he stood up slowly, his headache lessening slightly, as he exited his room and looked around to see that his Aunt wasn't anywhere in sight. Piandao frowned as he made his way into the main space of his house and was about to call out to his Aunt and Uncle before he saw a note on the table. He gave the note a quick reading as he sat down at the table.

"Piandao, your Uncle and I will be working late, I've fixed your uniform and it's in the bathroom drying. I left some rice and that atrocious seal stew you and your father seem to love. Be sure to lock up the house before you leave and don't bring any girls over for... okay, eww" Piandao said with a face as he set the note on the table and let out a small sigh as he sat up and made his way to the bathroom to clean up and get his uniform on.

Piandao hummed quietly to himself as he entered the small bathroom and flipped on the switch, the light flickering slightly as he saw his uniform hanging, cleaned and repaired and ready to be worn again. The young brunette made a note to find a way to repay his Aunt later as he went to the small cracked sink and switched on the water, cold, hardly ever warm, and began to wash his face. It was as Piandao was running water over his face that he realized something-

He didn't have his glasses on!

"The heck?" Piandao said as his head shot up and he looked up at the mirror to realize that he didn't need his glasses to see!

In fact, he could have sworn to all the spirits in the Spirit World that his eyesight had improved. Piandao leaned in to better examine his reflection as he noticed a few other things about himself now that he was actually paying attention and the headache he was experiencing had subsided. He seemed bigger, his arms weren't as thin as they used to be, now they seemed to be sporting actual muscle, as did his chest, prompting Piandao to remove his shirt and see something caused him to openly gape.

He had muscle!

"Holy crap" Piandao said as he looked down at his body and ran his hands over his chest and now apparent abs"When did this happen?"

Seriously, Piandao doesn't remember ever going to the gym, let alone having any sort of muscle like this in his life. After several minutes of doing nothing but marveling at his body, and pinching himself to see if he would wake up from this odd dream, Piandao looked back in the mirror with a wide grin on his face.

"This rules-" Piandao said as he shot his hands into the air in excitement… and sent one of them through the wall, creating a small hole. Piandao paled at this as he quickly removed his hand and stared at the hole "Ah crap..."

Least his Aunt and Uncle weren't home, Piandao had no idea how he was going to be able to explain why there was a fist sized hole in their bathroom wall. After spending the next several minutes panicking over the hole in the wall, and settling for just handing a towel over it and making a note to fix it later after he got home from school before his Aunt and Uncle got home, Piandao quickly dressed and returned to the kitchen to eat. He cooked up some of the stew that his Aunt made last night on the small stone while he sat at the table and quickly pulled out his homework and gave it a quick look over to make sure not only it was completed, but also correct. Piandao couldn't really afford to have his grades slacking, not if he and to an even larger extent his Aunt and Uncle wanted him to attend a actual university and make it ahead in life.

"Hopefully my grades will be enough for a university to have me attend them on a scholarship instead of having to pay for it... no way we'd be able to afford even a semester at some of the cheapest places here" Piandao said with a small sigh as memories of his Aunt and Uncle's conversation the other night rang through his head.

He could try to look for a part time job to work on weekends, it wouldn't be much but it was still better than him sitting around and studying material that he already knew probably better than he teachers themselves.

...

Thousands of miles to the south, in a land of ice and harsh temperature and long stretches of either daylight or night that can last for weeks, was a small compound created by the Order of the White Lotus where a young teenage girl clad in red and grey training gear was busy firing off several powerful blasts of fire at two similarly clad men before her while a older man clad in the robes that mark him as a member of the White Lotus, it's leader even, watched with a careful expression on his face.

The young teenage girl was Korra… the Avatar.

Korra was greatly different in terms of personality compared to her predecessor, Avatar Aang. She was impatient, headstrong, far too assertive for her own good and held a large amount of sarcasm that the Leader of the White Lotus found grating at times. Still he won't deny that while her personality could be a chore for him to handle on some days, she was quite the talented bender. At only sixteen years old and she's already mastered Water bending, Earth bending and if she kept up the pace, soon Fire bending as well.

"Whoooooo!" Korra shouted as she punched through a powerful blast of fire sent by one of the trainers before she sent a large torrent of fire with her foot followed up by several medium sized balls of flame towards the other at the same time "What's wrong fellas, too hot for you?"

The two instructors did there best to try and block or redirect the blasts but as they made to counter them, Korra used that time to quickly cover the several meter distance between her and them and sent another volley of fire balls at the men. One of the blasts knocked the instructor on her left flat on the ground while the second was able to avoid her attacks by rolling out of the way… and right into her fire incased foot.

Korra grinned as she felt her foot make contact with her instructor's chest, knocking the wind out of him and singing his training gear's breast plate before he was blasted back by a palmed strike from Korra, right into the slowly rising form of the other instructor.

"Oww…" one of the muttered as they laid there in a slightly smoking heap.

Korra let out a ragged breath as she rubbed the sweat that was building on her brow before she glanced over at the head of the White Lotus Order with a confident grin "So… how'd I do?"

The Head of the order gave Korra an impassive stare as he glanced at the two groaning men and sighed "You've done well, albeit you may have been a tad bit excessive in your beating them"

Korra winced at that she glanced at the two men sheepishly as they turned towards her with slightly irritated expressions "Hehehe… sorry guys"

They didn't respond as they gathered themselves up and made their way to the lockers while Korra returned her attention to the leader of the White Lotus.

"So, what's next?" Korra asked excitedly "Am I gonna learn how to generate lighting?"

The man shook his head "No, you'll-"

"Wait, am I gonna learn how to blow things up with my mind? You know like that guy that Master Katara mentioned she fought when she was my age?" Korra asked before she frowned as she rubbed her forehead "Will I have to get a tattoo like that guy too? I mean isn't there a way to shoot explosions from my skull without having to get something so ridiculous looking?"

"Korra…" the man said, his patience starting to one a little thin.

"I mean I'll get the weird looking tattoo it's just it doesn't exactly scream fashionable, you know?" Korra said as she toyed with a strand of hair that was stuck to her face a little "I mean I'm not too vain or anything it's just it's kinda hard to pull off a creepy eye tattoo is all. I mean could you imagine trying to look good with a giant leech looking thing on your chin just dangling there-"

"Korra!" the man said in a raised voice.

"Oops, sorry" Korra said sheepishly before she cleared her voice and give a slight bow "I'm ready for my next lesson… please be explosive bending…"

The leader of the White Lotus felt his brow twitch slightly as he folded his arms "Today you'll be taking your first steps in understating the more spiritual side of bending. While it can't be argued you've excelled at the more physical aspects of it-"

"Not the worse form of flattery I've heard…" Korra snickered as the man's face burned red for a second before he loudly exhaled.

"Today after lunch I want you to meet with Master Zin, he will be teaching you the finer points of meditation and reaching balance within yourself. You will need these once you move on to mastering Air bending with Master Tenzin" the man stated as he turned to leave.

"Sweet, learn a few fancy meditation things, bit of inner balance and I'll be whipping out hurricane gusts in no time" Korra said as she tossed her helmet in the air before catching it as she turned to leave for the showers.

"With your personality, that's what I'm afraid of…" the man muttered a little.

Korra stopped as she glanced back at the departing member of the White Lotus with a confused look "Huh, you uh say something?"

"No dear, enjoy your afternoon and remember not to be late" the man replied quickly as he left the arena.

Korra watched him go for a second before she shrugged "Alright then…"

She then resumed her trek to the showers to wash off before going to get Naga and go out for a quick run before she had to meet this Master Zin guy.

"Though I can't understand why I couldn't learn this meditation stuff with Tenzin, they guy is like the living embodiment of meditation and being all spiritually" Korra said to herself as she entered the showers and began to remove her training gear as she approached the showers, stopping only briefly to shimmy out of her pants and boots before she picked up a towel on a nearby shelf and made her way into one of the stalls for a nice relaxing rinse.

…

Several hours later, Korra, showered and dressed, sat on a large white furred creature that looked to be a mixture of a bear and a dog.

The creature's name was Naga, a Polar Bear Dog, that historically speaking, was hunted and feared by the Water Tribe for generations. As far as many are aware, Korra is the first and only person to have ever trained her to be a mount and companion.

Naga let out a low grunt as she carried Korra to the gate of the compound they have been staying in for several years now. Korra waved up towards the guard as Naga licked her front paw.

"Hey, you mind opening the gate? Me and Naga wanted to head out for a few hours" Korra shouted up towards the gate guard.

The man looked unsure as he stared at Korra and Naga before he sighed and nodded as he signaled to several others to open the gates. Naga let out a bark as the doors began to open and Korra leaned forward and patted the large bear canine hybrid on the head.

"Okay girl, let's goooooo!" Korra said before Naga broke out into a full on sprint out of the compound and into the artic landscape.

Korra let out a loud cheer as Naga raced over the snow and ice, her strong powerful limbs carrying them through the white frozen landscape. The young Avatar sat up a little more in her saddle as she held her arms out and let out another loud yell of excitement as Naga ran up a small hill of ice and snow before she leaped off and landed with a heavy thud, snow flurries thrown into the air from the force of her landing.

"Heh, nice one girl!" Korra laughed as some of the snow landed on her head before she used her water bending to brush the frozen liquid off and scratched Naga's ear.

Naga responded with a bark as her tail wagged as she continued her run but at a slower pace. Korra smiled down at her friend before she turned her attention towards the frozen landscape around her as the duo slowly made their way closer to the coast where the ice was thinner for what Korra had in mind. She glanced down at the bag she had strapped to the saddle before she glanced at Naga.

"So girl, what are you craving today for lunch? Fish or squid?"

Naga's response was a loud bark that caused Korra to chuckle as she patted the large animal on the head as they neared the coastline and Naga's run slowed down to a simple trot "Oh alright I'll try to get both, but no promises!"

Several hours passed, most of it being spent in the ice cold water and under small shelfs of ice, Korra, with a large furred blanket wrapped around her, sat before a medium sized fire with several fish and a single squid impaled on several metal rods she brought with her. Naga sat behind her with her head on her paws as she stared hungrily at the cooking aquatic lifeforms. Korra saw this and giggled as she patted Naga on the head while she used several breathing techniques taught to her by her Fire bending masters to heat and dry her still cold and damp body.

"Easy girl, their almost done"

Naga responded with a faint growl and whimper as she looked up at Korra with large pleading eyes.

Korra smirked at the look on her friend's face "Yeah not try, but if I have to wait for them to cook, so do you"

Naga grumbled again as several more minutes passed before Korra declared them good enough to eat. The young Avatar barely managed to take a bit of her own fish before Naga leaned in and snatched up several with her large tooth filled jaws and devoured them. Korra couldn't help but chuckle at the small bits of cooked fish hanging on the side of Naga's mouth. She was about to brush it off until the large Polar Bear dog rubbed her muzzle against her paw and wiped some of it off.

"Oh, well that saves me the trouble I guess" Korra grinned as she prepared to dig into her own fish before suddenly Naga's head was in her way and the distinct sound of her friend tearing the fish from the stick and devouring it echoed through the air. Korra's eyes widened at this as Naga backed away and licked her lips as the Avatar stared at her now drool covered stick in shock before it turned to annoyance as she glared at the Polar bear dog.

"NAGA!"

Naga responded with a bark as she wagged her tail back and forth while Korra groaned as she stood up and began to make her way to the small fishing hole "Now I'm gonna have to get another…"

Naga barked again, almost like she was laughing before she suddenly stopped and began to sniff the air. After several moments, her eyes narrowed as she sat up and she let out a low growl that caused Korra to pause as she went to dive into the water again.

"Naga, what is it girl?" Korra said as she scanned their icy surroundings, looking to see if she could spot what had her friend so riled up.

Naga didn't respond as she kept looking around with a snarl on her face, her claws digging into the ice and snow before she let out another loud bark that sounded more like a roar. Korra summoned a small fire ball in her hand as she looked around, trying to find the source for Naga's behavior.

"Uhh, is anyone there?" she called out "Your kinda riling my friend here up..."

She received no response as Naga's growls continued before they began to slowly quiet down, but her body remained tense. Korra frowned as she scanned the icy landscape for severa tense minutes before she and Naga both heard someone calling out for the Avatar. Korra scowled in mild annoyance as she recognized the owner of the voice, one of the members of the Order of the White Lotus.

"Do those guys have any kind of social life?" Korra said as she heard several more voices calling out for her "I swear, they sit in a room somewhere doing nothing, just waiting for someone to come and tell them to go and look for me!"

Naga made a noise that sounded like agreement as she brushed her head against Korra's body, her mood much lighter than it was only seconds ago.

"Guess whatever set you off is gone now, huh?" Korra said as several members of the White Lotus appeared on a small hill of ice and snow and spotted Korra. They called out to her again as they quickly descended the snowy mound.

"Avatar Korra!" one of them said.

"Hey guys!" Korra gave them a brief wave as she reached down and picked up the last cooked fish on a stick and began to eat it "What's up?"

"Where have you been?" one of the guards said with a frown.

"Here, eating, relaxing" Korra said with a light shrug "Why?"

"You've been gone for over several hours" the man said with a serious frown on his face "You know your not supposed to leave the compound for longer than an hour without-"

"Oh come on, what could possibly hurt me out here?" Korra said with a eye roll "A rabid Tiger Seal?"

The older man frowned at Korra's remark before he continued "We hard Naga barking earlier, was something the matter?"

"Eh, just something spooked her is all" Korra said with a dismissive wave while the members of the Order looked bothered.

"Something... spooked her?" one of the others said as he looked around with an uneasy look on his face "Your Polar Bear Dog, something spooked her?"

Korra frowned at this before she spoke with a slight scowl on her face "Yes, something spooked 'Naga'"

The man had the decency to look a little ashamed while the leader of the troop spoke up "Enough, come, it's growing late and it'll be nightfall by the time we return to the compound"

"Hurray" Korra said in a dry tone "You know you can't keep me locked up here forever right? can't exactly maintain peace and order from a cell"

"The compound isn't a prison and you are not a prisoner-" the man began with a sigh before Korra interrupted him.

"Oh, so I can leave any time I want for as long as I want until my next lesson without a bunch of babysitters following me everywhere?"

"Well, I wouldn't say-" the man began before Korra cut him off.

"I rest my case" Korra said before she extinguished her fire with a small tendril of water before she began to tighten the straps on Naga's saddle "Well, let's get going..."

Several dozen meters away from the small party stood a single solitary behind a small mound of ice and snow, their eyes following the Avatar's every move with unnatural scrutiny. The being that was a bright blonde-haired man clad in black clothing, seemingly made out of either shadow or some sort of inky substance as it shifted and changed every so often and stood a good several heads taller than your average man and then some. The figure's pale blue eyes narrowed as it watched the Avatar mount her beast and follow the members of the White Lotus back to the compound.

' _ **It would be so easy to snuff her out now and be done with it… but unlike my brother, I have actual restraint'**_ the figure thought as it watched Korra leave from its vantage point.

After several minutes of watching the small party depart, the figure let out a sound of annoyance as it seemed to fold in on itself before vanishing completely from sight. The creature's world was shadows and faint whispers for a moment before it suddenly found itself in the main meeting room of the Equalists with a large map of Republic City before it. The figure glanced at the image for a moment before it sensed someone standing behind it.

"May I ask where you were... Klyntar?" the owner of the voice said as they stepped into the mysterious creature's field of vision.

" **Just checking on the Avatar, Amon…"** Klyntar said in an odd echoing tone that has sent chills down may people's spines when they heard it. He turned towards the leader of the Equalists with a small grin forming, showing his slightly elongated teeth **"She's advancing fast for her age, haven't seen such skill and promise in a Avatar in several hundred years at least"**

Amon hummed at this as he folded his arms across his chest "Do you believe she'll be a danger to our plans?"

Klyntar shook his head **"No, it seems the Order of the White Lotus are unwilling to let the Avatar into the world yet, they'll barely let her out on her own for more than an hour in her own homeland before they go into a panic and search for her like a starving man for food"**

Amon nodded at that as he glanced at the map of Republic City with narrowed eyes under his mask "Our forces are growing. Dozens flock to us every day. By winter I believe we'll have enough men and women to make our move"

" **Excellent"** Klyntar said with grin as he followed Amon's gaze **"How goes gaining some of the wealthier individuals of this city's aid?"**

"There are a few we've made contact with. One of them being Hiroshi Sato" Amon said.

" **Ahh, the little man that made those wonderful things you drive around in. He'll make a good addition to our little crusade"** Klyntar chuckled before he picked up the sounds of someone approaching the room **"I must go, there are other things I must see too that require my personal attention"**

"And those would be?" Amon asked a little suspiciously. Ever since Klyntar approached him almost a year ago with the intent to aid him and his brothers and sisters in overthrowing the Benders of Republic City, Amon has been… wary of Klyntar's increasing number of disappearances.

Granted Amon couldn't stop him even if he tried, but he'd at least like to have an idea of what this… creature, was up to when he wasn't helping the Equalists prepare for their revolution. Because something told Amon that their partnership was a means to an end… on Klyntar's part.

' _And I'd rather not find out the hard way what happens to things that are no longer of use to him'_ Amon thought as he watched Klyntar begin to seemingly fold in on himself.

Klyntar, unaware of Amon's thoughts or was and didn't care, simply chucked as he vanished. But not without leaving a few parting words for the secret Blood bender to think on.

" **Oh nothing, just going to visit my dear brother is all… hehehehe"**

…

* * *

And done.

Next chapter, Piandao tries to go about his daily life with his newfound changes but quickly discovers that it'll be far from easy...


	4. Chapter 4

answers to reviewers questions and statements:

 **The Storm Master 567** : No, Piandao won't be getting powers like that from the spider bite and yeah it does feel like Peter got cheated since just about every other spider themed hero is getting additional powers. Just give him Venom at the very least and it'll be somewhat more equal Marvel, come on. Their meeting will be... anticlamatic for the lack of a better term. It'll be nice but it won't be anything grand or epic.

 **Blobking** : Their might be, I'm thinking of adding one more girl but it'd be a while till she shows up anyway.

 **Greywing101** : A few, mostly Spider-man related people, villians mostly, but there'll be a few supporting characters too.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Legend of Korra characters seen, mentioned or used.

* * *

Piandao took several deep breaths as he made his way towards the school, doing his best to ignore how loud everything seemed to be. Yesterday, the noise of the city was barely noticeable, having grown up in it all his life it was nothing more than white noise. Now though, it was like someone set up a large speaker next to his head, turned it up to high and started to blast the various sounds of the city right into his ear.

 _'And everything is so bright'_ Piandao thought as he kept his head bowed a little to keep the bright morning light from bothering his eyes.

The upside was his body no longer hurt and his headache was gone, so he wasn't entirely miserable-

"Hey, it's Pasty Parkah!"

"Oh fuck me" Piandao sighed as he could pick up several distinct footsteps approaching him.

Piandao turned to see four Pro-bending players making their way towards him. The one in front, the leader he figured, was a Waterbender while the other three were all earthbenders if the style of clothing was anything to go by. It also may have helped that one of them had a small rock orbiting his hand.

"Where you off to Pasty Parkah?" the leadre of the small troop asked as they began to surround Piandao.

"School" Piandao said dryly as he felt his body slowly begin to tense.

He's been in enough situations like these to know how it'll play out, almost down to a 'T'. They'll ask him what he's doing, make a comment of how he looks, usually as a insult, then they'd ask him to do something, either his money or lunch if he has either. If he has neither, they then procede to beat the crap out of him before going about their day. Though if he does have either food or money, they just take it and leave.

 _'And of course I have no food or money to give these guys'_ Piandao thought with annoaynce as the leader of the group eyed him up and down.

"You look better than yesterday Parkah" the boy said with a nsort "Instead of looking pasty, you just look nerdy"

"Gee, thanks" Piandao said before he felt something odd, a sort of tinginling at the base of his skull that caused his whole body to almost tense up as he heard several of the guys around him take a step closer.

The Waterbender's smirk dopped as he was suddenly in Piandao's face with a a slight glare "You know Piandao, you got a few of our friends the other day expelled"

 _'...Ah shit_ ' Piandao thought witth growing worry as he saw from the corner of his eyes the other members of his little group giving him equally dark looks.

"Han and Choi were some of our best players, and Roshi was my freind" the Waterbender said as he suddnely grabbed Piandao by the collar of his shirt and, with some effort on his part, lifted the shorter teen off his feet almost.

The feeling at the base of Piandao's skull intensified as he stared into the dark cold eyes of the waterbender. Piandao felt his pulse quicken and everything seemed to slow down to a crawl, the loud nosiy city life muffled as if his ears were covered and he felt a sort of jolt of energy run through his body. For a moment, Piandao felt like he could run from one end of Republic City to the other and barely be winded.

"Now..." the Waterbender began as he raised his hand and slowly turned it into a fist and pulled back "Since our school is down a few Pro-benders, I think it's only fair we'll be down a few non-bending trash, even it out a bit!"

Piandao watched the fist slowly pulled back before it started to come towards him. It barely made it halfway to his face before, on some instictual level, Piandao's hand shot up and cuaght the fist. The Waterbender and the three earthbender's all gaped in shock while Piandao stared at the fist in his grip with wide eyes.

 _'Whoa... I stopped it'_ Piandao thought with shock.

The Waterbender waas the first to recover as he gritted his teeth and started to try and pull his hand out of Piandao's grip. A few tugs and the boy found his efforts met with failure as Piandao's grip remained solid and unyeilding.

"Let go of me you little piece of sh-" he began before Piandao suddenly let go just as he pulled back.

The result was the boy to stumble back, releasing Piandao in the process and causing the Waterbender's eyes widened before they narrowed at the shorter teen. Piandao watched his attacker snarl as he took several steps towards him, his hand moving to a small water skin he had on his belt and pulled a small stream of water out and have it cooled into a small ball of ice.

"I'm gonna break your fucking teeth in you smart ass little-" the teen said as he made to smack Piandao in the head with the ball of ice.

Piandao, seeing the teen apraoch him in slow motion again, moved to the left, the ball of ice missing his head by a wide margin. The Waterbender stumbled before he growled and tried to hit Piandao again... and again... and again. Each attempt was met with failure as Piandao ducked and sidestepped every hit. The Earthbenders, having stepped back a few feet to give their leader room to attack Piandao, watched with wide eyes. They've never seen Parkah move this fast and it looked liek he wasn't even trying to be quick in his dodging.

"Hold. Still!" the water tribe teen growled as he made another lunge at Piandao who responded by stepping out of the way and letting the teen fly past him and smack into the Earthbender standing behind him.

"How about no..." Piandao said as he watched the Waterbender regain his footing before he shoved the Earthbender away and made to leap at Piandao again when they all suddenly heard a new voice speak up.

"What the hell is going on here?"

The five teens tturned to see a middle aged Police Officer looking at them with a steely gaze. The three Earthbenders paled as did the Waterbender while Piandao held his hands up.

"I didn't do anything!"

The Metalbender glanced at Piandao for a second before he turned his attention towards the other four "I said, what the hell is going on here?"

"N-Nothing officer" the waterbender said with a sheepish grin "Just playing around is all"

"Really?" the man said as he folded his arms across his chest "So, I didn't see you trying to attack this young man here with a ball of ice?"

His question was met with silence as the four Pro-benders looked at the man nervously while Piandao did his best to discreetly back away. At this rate, he'd be late for school and he's rather not have his perfect attendence record ruined because four Pro-benders were pissy about their thugs of a freinds being kicked out of shcool. It was than the police officer saw Piandao trying to back away and scolwed at him.

"And where do you think your going son?"

"Uh, school before I'm late?" Piandao said sheepishly as he pointed down the street where the school was.

The cop grunted at this before he glared at the others and pointed towards the school "All of you get going before I decide to have you charged with disturbing the peace, attempted assault, and disorderly conduct"

The various Benders all muttered out 'Yes sir' before they quickly turned and headed for the school as more and more students began to appear down the road. Piandao made to follow them when the cop placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Uh-" Piandao began before the cop spoke.

"Wait a few minutes, put some distance between you and them" the cop said as he watched the teens "Guys like them are gonna be stewing for a while. Best let time and distance cool them off"

"Oh, uh thanks" Piandao said with a cough as he adjusted the strap on his bag.

"Eh, I was in your shoes once" the cop said with a chuckle "Small, nerdy, getting his ass handed to him by the athletes"

"One of the universe's constants I'm told" Piandao said with a snicker.

"That it is" the cop said as he glanced back at the teens to see they were out of sight before nodding "Alright, they should be gone. Now get to school you hoodlum"

"Hoodlum?" Piandao said with mock outrage while he began to head towards the school "I ain't no hoodlum!"

"Stay in school and keep it that way" the cop hollowed back "Have enough of you kids dropping out and becoming wannabe thugs as it is"

…

The day passed peacefully, at least Piandao thinks so.

After he arrived, and made it to homeroom before the bell rung, he didn't see the Pro-benders again. Now whether it was because they got the hint and decided to leave Piandao alone or were just waiting for a more convenient time to get him was unclear and Piandao had no intention of finding out. He was just happy he wasn't late and didn't get beat up.

But throughout class, Piandao kept getting a faint buzzing at the base of his skull. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, it wasn't like the feeling he had earlier when he was in obvious trouble, but it kept him more alert for the entire lesson and well into lunch. Piandao also used the time he had at lunch to try and figure out just what exactly was going on with him and what may have caused it in the first place. One did not just fall asleep and wake up with the body to put most professional athletes to shame some sort of danger detecting radar sense thing.

"Can't be something I ate or drank..." Piandao said as he sat on some steps not too far from the cafeteria, writing down what he's observed about his new traits in a small journal of his he used to help collect his thoughts "Else there'd be others that were affected and showing the same kind of weird powers that I am"

He also ruled out a possible disease or illness during chemistry class. Far as Piandao knew, there weren't any outbreaks or contagions running amok in Republic city, least not in the past decade. Piandao then noticed the faint mark of the spider bite and frowned as memoirs of the trip flashed through his mind. It was possible the strange spider caused this, plenty of evidence to support it, the question however was how and why did a spider bite give him these... abilities.

"Doubt it was because Agni, Tui or La had decided to have pity on me" Piandao said with a snort as he wrote down a few more notes before he closed the book and placed it back in his bag and slung it over his shoulder as he stood up and made to head to his next class.

Piandao felt a faint buzzing at the base of his skull again as he passed the entrance to the cafeteria and risked a glance inside to see several tables that the various Pro-bending teams have taken to occupying looking right at him. The buzzing in his head increased as a number of the benders glared at Piandao before he quickly moved out of their line of sight and made his way to his next class.

"Just gotta get though this and then my next class and I'm home free" Piandao said with a shake of his head as the buzzing faded away.

Piandao had just turned a corner, his class just down the hall when he heard a yelp of pain followed by the sounds of something being shoved into a wall. The young teen blinked at this and against his better judgement decided to investigate. He located the source of the problem in the next hall, two teens, one bigger than the other and Piandao himself, pinning a smaller kid to the wall.

The younger one tried to fight back and succeeded in pushing the bigger teen back and tried to make a run for it.

"Help!" the younger boy shouted as he was shoved back against the wall by the taller kid.

Piandao sighed as he turned to leave, memories of what happened to him the last time he tired to help out "Not my problem, not my problem..."

"Someone, please- ACK!" the kid shouted before he was punched in the gut and fell to the ground as the older boy began to kick him with a laugh.

"Aww what's wrong Han?" the teen said as he kicked the smaller boy without mercy.

Piandao stopped and felt his grip on his bag's strap tighten as he could make out the impacts of the bully's boots against the boy's body with almost perfect clarity. The sound of leather slamming into flesh, cloth and bone, bruising and damaging it. The sound of muscle coiling back as the teen raised his leg to stomp down on the smaller boy, his pained hitched breathing and crying sounding almost as loud as a Satomobile engine roaring next to Piandao's head. With every hit, Piandao's fist formed and tightened more and more until he swore his nails were piercing his skin and drawing blood.

"Not. Your. Problem!" Piandao gritted out as he tried to ignore the sounds and keep walking until one kick caused the boy to scream in pain as Piandao made out the distinct sound of a bone going 'crack'.

At this, Piandao turns around and begins to march towards the two. Try as he might, he can never seem to leave well enough alone. Maybe it's because he feels that if he helps enough people, they would in turn help others. Maybe he's doing it because regardless, he knows it's the right thing to do. Or maybe, it's because he knows that this time, it won't be him getting the crap kicked out of him.

Piandao saw the teen ready to stomp on the whimpering boy again and quickly stepped up behind him and shoved him away. The force of the shove was greater than he anticipated and sent the teen into the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him. Piandao barely gave the teen a second thought as he kneeled down next to the bloodied, whimpering teen.

"You okay?" Piandao asked as he saw the dark bruises already forming on his face, the likelihood of others underneath his clothes being even worse, was extremely high.

The boy barely nodded before Piandao felt the sensation at the base of his skull and turned just in time to receive a hard punch to the face. Before, the force of the blow may have very well broken something in his face, or at the very least knocked him flat out on his back, probably unconscious. Now though, the punch barely hurt and it barely caused him to stumble back. If anything it was the surprise of seeing the teen up and ready to fight again that took Piandao back in surprise.

' _Then again, I wasn't trying to hurt or beat him, just getting him to stop'_ Piandao thought as he cupped his cheek, the blow still caused it to feel a little sore.

"You think just because you can take on a few Pro-bending players your top shit?" the teen glared at Piandao with dark brown eyes.

"No, just got tired of seeing and hearing you beat this guy down" Piandao said with a nod towards the other teen who was trying to crawl away now that his attacker was focused on someone else.

"Well maybe, you should have walked away" the bully said with a sneer "Wasn't your problem"

"And yet, here I am regardless" Piandao said dryly 'I just know I'm going to regret this later...'

The bully gritted his teeth as he threw a punch towards Piandao, a punch that was easily dodged by him leaning out of the way. The bully threw another punch and again missed as Piandao stepped back. Several more punches and a few attempted kicks later and the bully was already starting to tire out while Piandao wasn't even breathing hard. The bully growled at Piandao as he made to lunge at the shorter teen when Piandao stepped to the side and struck his foot u, tripping the taller boy and watching him tumble to the ground, his head smacking against the wall.

"Oof, that had to hurt" Piandao smirked as he saw the bully glare up at him with pure rage in his eyes.

"I'm going to stomp your fucking teeth in!" as the teen sent another punch towards him.

Piandao ducked under the punch before he grabbed the guy's arm and made to pull him and fling him to the ground before he heard a loud distinct 'crack' followed by a scream of pain from the teen.

"GAAAH! My arm!" the waterbender shouted as he fell to his knees after Piandao let go of him in surprise.

' _Oh man, I didn't mean to grab him that hard!_ ' Piandao thought with wide eyes as he watched the teen cradle his arm, a splotch of blood now visible on his forearm from where the young brunette grabbed him.

Piandao glanced down at his hand and saw the blood on it before he wiped it off on his pants and prepared to reach out and help the injured teen to his feet when he heard several footsteps rushing towards him and the whimpering teen. Piandao turned to see who it was and was greeted to the sight of several teachers, one of them being the Principle, turn the corner and heading right for them. And none of them seemed to happy with what they were seeing.

The young teen barely opened his mouth to speak when the Principle spoke in a harsh, disappointed tone.

"Mister Parkah, not a single word!" he said as he jabbed Piandao in the chest while two of the teachers kneeled down to examine the other teen's bleeding arm.

"But sir I-" Piandao began before he was cut off again.

"My office, now!" the Principle said as he gestured for Piandao to start walking.

Rather than fight it, Piandao sighed and began to make his way towards the Principle's office, all the while trying to imagine how his Aunt and Uncle will react when they've been informed of what happened.

Piandao was sure they'd understand once they heard the story, hopefully.

...

"Piandao Parkah, what do you have to say for yourself?!" Aunt Mai said as she stared down at her nephew with a unhappy frown.

As it turns out, they were not very understanding.

"I'm... Sorry?" Piandao said with a wince as he found himself on a seat in his home's kitchen not even a hour later, his Aunt and Uncle looking at him with various degrees of disappointment and anger. Most of which were on Aunt Mai's face while Uncle Bato simply watched on with a blank expression on his face, though Piandao could tell he was furious.

"Sorry?" his Aunt Mai said with outrage "Piandao, you broke a boy's arm!"

"Actually it was a fracture-" Piandao began before he was cut off by a hard smack from his Aunt.

"Don't. You. Dare. "Mai threatened with a glare "Don't you dare try and play that game, not with me, not now!"

"Sorry Aunt Mai" Piandao said as he bowed his head while idly noticing that his Aunt slap didn't hurt as much as it should, or used to at any rate.

 _'Gues I can add stronger body to the list of weird powers_ ' Piandao thought as he stared at the table and saw the latest edition of the Bugle on it.

If Piandao had been paying more attention to his Aunt, he would have noticed her wince when she slapped him, unaware that for her, it felt like smacking concrete. Uncle Bato finally let out a sigh as he stepped forward and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder as he looked down at Piandao.

"Look, Piandao, we understand what happened. You saw someone in trouble and decided to do your best to help them. Your Aunt and I always talked about helping others..." Uncle Bato said before he frowned "But we never talked or raised you to believe that hurting others was the right thing to do"

"Well it seems like the only thing these guys ever seem to understand" Piandao snapped with narrowed eyes as he looked back up towards his Aunt and Uncle "The school, the police, these kinds of guys don't care what they say or what they do, because whatever punishments they come up with are never enough for them Uncle Bato. They never learn!"

"And what, you think you have and your the one that has to teach it to them?" Uncle Bato said with narrowed eyes.

"Well someone had to" Piandao said in a low voice as he adverted his gaze back to the paper on the table.

Uncle Bato's steely gaze fell at this "Perhaps, but that's not your place Piandao"

Piandao didn't say anything as he kept his gaze focused on the ground. A tense silence echoed through the room before Mai sighed loudly and made her way over to a drawer that she and Bato used to hold their financial information.

"I'll see how much money we'll be able to afford to lose, Agni knows that the boy's family is gonna sue. Bunch of damn money grubbing parasites all of them..." Mai said with a hint of bitterness in her voice so potent that Piandao and even Bato flinched a little.

If there was one thing that Mai Parkah hated, it was money wasted or taken from her. It meant she and even Bato would have to start pulling more shifts at the factory and fabric store to make up for it if they wanted to keep thr lights on, the water running and food on the table for them and their nephew.

Bato sighed at the dark mood his wife was now in before he patted Piandao on the shoulder and nodded towards the teen's room "Off to bed... we're talk about this later"

"Yes sir..." Piandao said with a sigh as he stood up and made his way to his room.

Bato watched him go before he turned to see Mai pulling out a few documents and some wadded up cash from the drawer's top drawer. He quietly walked over and hugged his tense wife from behind and placed a small kiss on the base of her neck.

"He was just trying to help" he muttered.

"I know..." Mai said quietly as she stared down at the items in her hands "But his helping is going to end up with us on the streets at this rate. we were just barely able to make ends meet this month!"

"I doubt it'll be that bad the next" Bato said with a faint chuckle as he released his wife "My pay from... my part time job, will be in soon. We can use that instead of digging into our savings"

"And if it's not enough?" Mai said in a clipped tone.

"Well it's a good thing there's going to be a number of fights over the next few weeks. Some are gonna be sold out, which means more pay for me and the other guards" Bato said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Well isn't that just dandy, you making money from a group of people beating the ever loving hell out of each other" Mai said with a scowl.

"Better than some of the other things they could have done" Bato pointed out as he watched his wife make her way to their room.

Mai loudly inhaled and exhaled at this "Don't... don't remind me... please"

As his Aunt and Uncle got ready for bed, Piandao sat in his room with his head in his hands.

 _'Stupid, fucking stupid!'_ Piandao thought angrily.

He just had to step in and stop the teen and just like the last time, it ended in a spectacular failure. Only this time, his Aunt and Uncle were going to pay for it!

"Why the hell couldn't I just walk the hell away!?" Piandao said to himself before he smacked himself in the head "Fucking idiot, why didn't you just leave it alone?!"

It wasn't his problem, what was happening wouldn't affect him in the slightest. All he had to do was just turn around, and walk away and he and his family wouldn't be in this predicament. Piandao was lucky enough not be expelled with what happened or even arrested because of how bad the teen's injury was.

After a few minutes, Piandao lifted his head up and sighed as he glanced out his window towards the distant skyscrapers of downtown Republic City, unsure of what to do now.

For a brief moment, Piandao entertained the idea of maybe trying to take part in the underground fighting rings his Uncle was now working at. He could sign up for a fight with a non-bender, use his new abilities to win and make some money off it. Unfortunately, common sense woke back up and made it's way back inside Piandao's mind with a sharp smack.

 _'Even if I do win, if someone somehow finds out what I can do now, they'd skin me alive for 'cheating'... and they'd portably- no, they will go after Aunt Mai and Uncle Bato'_ Piandao thought with a frown.

While he's never interacted with the Triads, at least the actual hardcore triads, not the wannabe hustlers at this school and in the neighborhood, he knew their reputations enough to know that crossing any of them, was a death sentence. And this was before he even got to how his Aunt and Uncle would react to him participating in something so dangerous.

 _'Now I'm wondering which is worse, the Triads or Aunt Mai's wrath'_ Piandao thought with a tired smile as he kept staring out his window before he remembered the newspaper on the table.

Piandao quietly listened to his Aunt and Uncle as they talked in low hushed voices from what sounded like their room. It didn't sound like they had closed the door yet so Piandao waited patiently as his Aunt talked about taking a few extra shifts at the fabric shop while Uncle Bato said he'd try to get another shift at the factory as the distinct sound of their door closing echoed outside. Piandao gave it a few minutes before he slowly got up and snuck back out of his room and looked to see the light in his Aunt and Uncle's room go out. Before, Piandao would need a small lamp or light to see around the house at this time, but now everything looked as bright and as clear as if it were the middle of the day.

 _'So I'm fast, strong, tough, can somehow sense when I'm in danger or being threatened and I can see in the dark... not the wrose side effects after getting bitten by a large unknown spider in the middle of the temple'_ Piandao thought as he quietly walked out of his room and made his way towards the table where Uncle Bato left the paper.

He looked down at the main headline and saw in big bold lettering a new Triad that went by the name 'Inner Demons' had supposedly attacked a restaurant that may or may not have catered to the Creeping Crystal Triad.

 _'Never a dull moment in this city'_ Piandao thought as he grabbed the paper and silently walked back to his room and closed the door before sitting down on his bed, the mattress and frame just barely making a 'squeak' as he settled into it and opened it up to the local business section and began to look for somewhere that was hiring...

It couldnt be that hard to find a job, right?

...

* * *

And done.

Next chapter, Piandao discovers that yeah, it's harder than it looks...


	5. Chapter 5

answers to reviewers questions or statements:

 **RexBlazer1** : Yep.

 **Guest** : That he would and he'll crop up eventually.

 **Anonymous** : No, he's gotta die like all the others, though I will say it'll be rather unique on how he'll die this time around.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Legend of Korra characters seen, mentioned or used.

* * *

"Well it's official... I have no idea what I'm doing" Piandao said as he sat on a bench in a small park not too far from his house a few days after his little 'incident' at school.

Thankfully given his track record of being a well mannered, punctual and rather academically successful student, he was given a slap on the wrist for all intents and purposes. Granted he'll be serving after school detention for the next month on weekdays and weekends, and on top of that he'll be paying the bully's medical bills.

Which brought him to his current predicament. Since he, and by he, his Aunt and Uncle will be paying the medical bill, Piandao has been spending the past several hours looking for a job that would hire him.

He first tried a nearby Earthkingdom restaurant 'The All seeing Badgermole' to see if they would need any bus boys. Turns out, they didn't and even if they did, he needed at least a year's worth of experience of working in the culinary business and a reference, both of which he had little.

"Probably didn't help that when asked how good I was in a kitchen I mentioned setting chicken pig dumplings on fire" Piandao said with a faint grin as he rested his elbow on his knee and his chin on his palm as he watched the passing traffic with a bored expression.

After failing to find a job in the restaurant there, Piandao decided to give the nearby actual theater a try, which again refused to take him. Mainly because it was closing down as it's been unable to pay the bills for operating. Piandao was in and out of that place in ten minutes, a full five minutes less than the restaurant.

His next stop was the local gym... he barely said a single word before the owner showed him the door. Turned out, the owner was the father to the kid who's arm he fractured.

"Small word" Piandao said with a eye roll as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded paper and a pen.

He quickly unfolded the paper which had a small list of locations he was trying to get a job at. He took the pen and drew a single line through 'Library' before he looked down at the next place that was hiring on his list, second to last.

The Silver Tea Spoon.

Piandao's never been there before but he knew that it was a small tea shop that also sold a small selection of baked goods and sweets. Not the most glamourous place to work, and the pay they advertised wasn't even all that great, easily the lowest out of all the choices Piandao had.

"And with my luck... the only place that'll hire me" Piandao said with a sigh as he folded the paper and placed it and the pen back in his pocket before he stood up and cracked his neck.

He then began the short walk towards the small shop.

...

Today was noting go well for Lin Beifong.

In fact she knew the moment she stepped into the office that day that it was going to be long, tedious, stressful and make her want to throw someone through a window or wall... or both.

"And you have absolutely no leads on these... Inner Demons?" Lin said as she read the latest report on a new Triad that's appeared on the scene recently and was already making some serious headway in being one of the most powerful Triads in the city. And she was now getting confirmed reports in other cities throughout the United Republic of the Inner Demons.

"No chief" the officer in charge of the Inner Demons investigation said with a sigh "We don't even have an idea of where they operate out of. They just seem to spring up everywhere. They could be based in the sewers, but that's miles and miles of tunneling, natural and man made we'd have to go through. It'd take weeks and by then they'll like have moved"

"Dammit..." Lin said with a scowl.

Whoever the Inner Demons were, since there was next to nothing known about them other than they appeared to be majority Firebenders and many of the men wore some sort of Oni mask. And what few they were able to capture, alive, ended up either killing themselves in custody or keeping remarkably tight lipped to the point Lin almost believed that torture would get them to talk... maybe.

 _'And there's no way in Koh's lair I'm going that far to beat these people... not a chance_ ' Lin thought as she continued to read the report while trying to figure out how a group like the Inner Demons grew so quickly. To her it didn't make any sense on how this many people could be part of something that's only been around, from her officer's investigations, only a year or so, maybe less.

 _'Unless they've been planning this for a while_ ' Lin thought with narrowed eyes _'Just what I need on top of those Equalist fanatics... a criminal organization that seems almost more like a revolutionary force in the making'_

Whoever was in charge of them they had plans, ambitious ones... and Lin needed to find out what they were, before it got any worse.

After a few more seconds of reading the report, Lin closed it and turned towards the officer "Detective, I want you to start asking around some of our informants in the local Triads. See if they might know anything about these guys. Who knows, maybe they know some people that went over to them and have some insight we don't"

"On it Chief" the man said as he turned and left Lin's office.

Once the man was gone and her door was closed, Lin reached into one of her desk's drawers and pulled out a small bottle of tea she kept and a small cup to pour it in.

"Times like these I wonder if I'm getting too old for this shit" Lin said with a sigh before she downed the drink and looked out her window to see the city go about it's day.

Satmobiles driving to and from one place to another, Airships drifting over the city, people going about their business. It almost looked peaceful, harmonious even, but Lin knew better. She wasn't what one would call spiritual, but she felt that the city was bracing itself for something, what she had no idea, but something was coming, something big.

 _'Question is, is it a good something... or a bad something?'_ Lin thought as she refilled her cup and took another, slower sip.

Whatever it was, she'd meet it head on. As long as she was still alive, nothing was going to hurt this city.

...

Across the city, Piandao sat nervously as the manager of the Silver Tea Spoon went over his small resume. Aside from a few part time jobs at both his Aunt and Uncle's work when he was younger, he didn't have much of a work history. He also didn't know how to brew tea, something his Aunt was completely floored by.

 _"Half your blood is Fire Nation! You should be able to make good tea!_ " she once yelled out in disbelief when Piandao tried to make Longjin tea and failed.

 _'Least I know how to make cakes and curry...'_ Piandao thought nervously as the manager hummed a few more times before he nodded and placed the sheet back on the table.

"So, mister Parkah… can you do anything at all aside from bake and cook, a rather limited pallet yes, but still passable to be served here at the Silver Tea Spoon" the manager said as he stared at Piandao intently.

"Well..." Piandao began as he scratched the back of his head "I can... um... I can fix any problems you may have with your radios and lights"

"Really?" the man said with a raised brow.

Piandao nodded eagerly at this "Yeah, I have plenty of practice tinkering with things. I once disassembled my Aunt and Uncle's radio and put it back together. I even got it to work better than before! Same with their stove and the heater"

The manager hummed at this as he leaned back in his chair "You mentioned that you are currently in school still. Would you be able to work here and pursue your academic studies at the same time? I understand it can be quite difficult and leave one lacking much of a social life"

"Nah I'll be fine, and really the work schedule will fit perfectly" Piandao said with a grin ' _Even better, my hours would start after I did my mandatory after school detention... plus I don't have much of a social life to have'_

"Good... good... good..." the manager said with a thoughtful look on his face before he sighed "To be honest with you mister Parkah, my business has been struggling lately with the Triple Triads moving in and demanding 'protection fees', trying to make a descent profit to keep this place going on top of paying my employees can be... difficult. I can't guarantee you'll be payed regularly and the pay itself may not always be consistent. Sometimes it'll be less than before"

Piandao nodded at this, hoping the disappointment wouldn't be visible on his face "I understand sir..."

"Thank you" the man said with a heavy sigh as he ran a hand down his face "As much as I hate to say this, some of my other employees may be leaving soon. If they do, and your still working for me, you'll pay will be higher given I'll have less people to pay. So there's one upside I suppose"

Piandao could see just saying that made the man think he was an asshole and Piandao couldn't blame him but that was just how the world of businesses worked. If you have less workers, generally the pay will be higher given it's not being spread out farther and the resources that the business needed weren't too expensive and a descent profit was being made.

The manager then stood up and gestured for Piandao to follow him out of his office "Come on, let me introduce you to the others you'll be working with"

Piandao nodded as he followed after the man and stepped out into a well lit, if slightly cramped space that made up the main area of the Silver Tea Spoon. There was only four tables and a small area along the wall that looked similar to a bar but instead of different types of alcohol, it was filled with different ingredients and types of teas. Below that was a small board with the various types of pastries and food that the Silver Tea Spoon sold and the prices for each item.

It was than that Piandao's attention was drawn to one of the tea house's three waiters by the manager, a young Earth Kingdom woman that looked to be a few years older than himself. She was busy wiping down the table with a rag before she saw her boss and Piandao and gave them a small nod.

"Morning" she said as she stood up a little straighter.

"Hello Ming" the manager said with a nod as he gestured to the young man next to him "This is Piandao, as of today, he'll be working here"

"Hello" Piandao save the woman a small wave that she returned with a nod before she went back to wiping the table.

The manager gave Piandao a sheepish expression "Sorry, she's a little antisocial, which come to think of it is rather ironic considering her profession"

"I don't mind" Piandao said with a simple shrug "I'm in the same boat"

The manager smirked a little at this before he noticed another one of the waiters coming out of the small kitchen area, like the woman, he appeared to be of Earth Kingdom descent though his skin was a little more tanned than the woman's "Ah, that there Chin, he hails from the Si Wong Desert"

Piandao nodded at this as he glanced at Chin and gave the man a nod "Yo"

"Eh" Chin replied in a bland tone as he went to set up the various containers for the Tea leaves.

"I'm starting to see a pattern here" Piandao said dryly.

"Indeed" the manager said as he took Piandao into the kitchen where a elderly man that Piandao thought was of Fire Nation descent was heating up several cups and pots of water.

"And this is Toz and yes before you point out the stereotype of Fire Nation making good tea, he does in fact make good tea" the manager said as he glanced at Toz "Isn't that right you old dragon?"

"Ehh?" the old man said as he turned towards Piandao and the manager with a confused look on his face "Who are you? Why are you in my office?"

"Uhhh?" Piandao said as he shared a look with the manager who smiled sheepishly.

"He... fell on his head a lot over the years"

Piandao nodded at this as he turned towards the man as he stared at the boiling water before he nodded "Lady Azula will be pleased..."

"Lady Azula?" Piandao said with a confused expression as he followed the manager out of the kitchen.

"Toz used to be one of Lady Azula's personal bodyguards in his youth" the manager said with a shrug "I think he got the head injury when he was protecting her from an attempted assassination and that's why he returned… either that or the woman broke his mind. Either's possible with her"

Piandao snorted at this "And here I thought the factory my Uncle worked at was a hostile work environment"

The manager grinned as he looked around the small shop as a few people started to come inside and were shown to a table by Ming "Hmmm... Rafa hasn't shown up yet. Guess the monorail ran late again"

"Rafa?" Piandao said with a raised brow "He the other waiter you mentioned?"

The manager nodded at this "Yes, he's from the Northern Tribe"

Piandao hummed at that "Huh, my Uncle and father were from the Northern tribe. I bet we'll get along swimmingly"

"Heh, perhaps" the manager said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, hopefully he'll be pretty chilled" Piandao quipped.

"Please stop" the manager said with a sigh.

"Man, talk about cold" Piandao snickered.

The manager sighed again as he turned to head back to his office "I expect you here bright and early next week"

Piandao frowned at this "Uh, I'm still in school and my hours don't start until like five"

"You know what I mean!" the man responded as he closed the door to his office.

The young teen chuckled at this as he made his way outside the tea shop and looked up to see that it was getting late. He'd have to hurry if he wanted to catch the train in time.

"Okay..." Piandao said he made his way towards the nearest station so he could get a ride back home "Got a part time job, doesn't pay as much or as often as I would like, but it's better than nothing"

Hell, he was lucky to even get it, so he might as well be grateful and hope his seemingly good luck holds out, for a little while longer at least...

...

Asami had to hold back a scowl of annoyance as she stared at the plans before her, or plans in the making before her.

The plans were a series of blueprints and sketches of what she was hoping would be the first in a line of next generation Airships. They were gonna be bigger, faster, more energy efficient and would have the comfort and luxury to rival any multi-star hotel in Republic City, fit for a king even. However the problem laid in how to make such a grand thing run on at least half the energy current Airship models use. The size of the airship alone would require a furnace for the coal would need to be at least twice the current sizes fitted into Future Industries latest models.

"Ugh, what am I missing!" she groaned as she leaned back in her seat with a huff and glared at the paper.

She's spent the past half hour trying to figure out a possible solution but each answer would only lead to more problems in the long run. If there was thing Future Industries prided itself on, it was making long lasting and reliable vehicles and goods.

After a few moments of glaring at the sheet, Asami sighed in defeat and stood up, her back cracking from the amount of time she's spent hunched over. The dark haired beauty groaned as she rubbed her back and made her way over to her window and looked out at the vast estate her and her father lived on. Asami wouldn't lie, she sometimes felt a little overwhelmed by how large her home was, mainly because aside from herself, her father and a dozen servants, the estate was largely unoccupied.

"Great place to play hide and seek though..." Asami said with a small grin as she rested her arms on the window's still and looked out at the distant metropolis that was Republic City.

Her father wouldn't be back for another few hours, he was in yet another meeting with Nobu and the long winded name of a organization that she wasn't even going to try and understand was a good idea. Still, it had an interesting acronym when one thought it out.

The H.A.N.D.

"Wonder if that was intentional or not" Asami mused with a small chuckle as she stared out at the city, just barely making out the distant shapes of the Police's airships.

After a few minutes, Asmai turned to the small radio by the window and after checking the time, flicked it on, the first Pro-Bending match should be coming on soon and tonight her favorite team, the Fire Ferrets were going to be going up against the Frozen Camal Hunters. Asami listened as the announcer began to introduce the two teams, the members of each team and tonight's sponsor for the event. The young Sato girl then turned towards the city again and looked in the direction of where the Pro-bending stadium was and wished she was there instead of at her home. Granted she could be there right now, but she promised her father she'd give the designs a look over and show him what she's found and what could be improved or scrapped after he got home.

"Sometimes I wonder if he just pawns this stuff on me so I wont be able to go to the Pro-bending matches... he's never been a real big fan of them" Asmai muttered as she sat up and returned to her desk to give the designs another look while the Pro-bending match played in the background.

She sated at the designs for a few more minutes before she groaned and rubbed her temples "What am I not seeing here? There has to be a way to make this work. Like daddy always said, well there's a will, there's a way"

And the patience of a sage probably would help, she thought as she looked at the notes she had written down so far. It was than that Asami heard the announcer as the Fire Ferrets began their match against the Artic Camel Hunters.

 _"And the Fire Ferrets are off with a aggressive start. Bolin throwing earth left right and center, keeping the Camels from responding with a coordinated strike while Mako and Hasook perform a water fire combo to knock them down... ooh, it looks like the Artic Camal Hunters seemed to have gotten themselves together and are now launching a impressive counterattack..."_

"Come on, come on" Asami said as she looked at the radio with a excited expression, the plans and notes on her table forgotten for the time being.

 _"And Mako is down after a rather controversial hit from the Artic Camal Hunter's own Fire Bender, Lee, which reminds me that tonight's match is brought you by Mǎ ding Lee's Feast Shelter. When You help someone, you help everyone!"_

"Dang it" Asami said in worry as she heard the Artic Camal Hunters begin to beat back the Fire Ferrets, knocking Hasook out, leaving only Brolin left before he too was knocked out of the wing.

The commentator just announced the beginning of the next round when Asami heard her father's voice calling out for her. The young heiress scowled in annoyance as she quickly went and shut her radio off before her father could hear it and made for the door. She stopped briefly to slip on a more conservative robe before she opened the door just in time to see her father turn the corner to her room.

"Hello daddy" Asami said with a smile towards the man as he approached "Your home early. I thought your meeting would last a few more hours"

"Hello Asami" Hiroshi said with a tired smile of his own "And it would have but Mister Nobu had to leave early. Something has come up that he needed to see to"

"Oh, is everything alright?" she asked with a frown.

"Everything is fine dear, nothing to worry about" the famed business man said with a chuckle as he looked over his shoulder and saw the plans on her desk "I take it your looking over my designs again?"

"W- Oh, yeah" Asami nodded "Just seeing if there was anything I could do to make them better"

"Heh, that's my little girl. Always tinkering, just like her old man" Hiroshi said with a grin before it faltered a little "Better than you running around with boys I suppose"

"Daaaad" Asami groaned in embarrassment.

"I'm grateful for the help you've given me Asami, truly I am... but aren't you ever bored?" Hiroshi said with a frown "I'm no fool daughter, my work while great isn't the most exciting thing in the world. Even I get bored by it, and I love it"

"It's fine dad" Asami said with a grin "Besides, if I'm going to take over one day, it'd help that I know how my company's products work and how they can be improved"

"If you say so" Hiroshi said with a sigh as he turned to leave "Just remember to enjoy your youth sweetie. Once you take over, you'll find little time for any sort of fun social life"

"I'll be sire to keep that in mind daddy" Asami said with a chuckle "I'll show you the plans tomorrow at breakfast"

"Please wait until I have my morning tea please" Hiroshi joked.

"I will" Asami said as she saw her father make his way back to his room before she returned to hers.

..

"And where have you been all day?" Uncle Bato said from the table, today's paper spread out in front of him, having watched his nephew just come in through the front door.

"I was... out looking for a job" Piandao said as he closed the door and began to remove his coat.

Bato frowned at this "What do you mean? Why on earth would you be out looking for a job?"

"I just... I was just trying to help out" Piandao said with a frown as he glanced at the drawer that he knew his Aunt and Uncle used to store bills "And with the whole paying for the medical bill thing and the factory your working at about to close down... figured I could try and contribute"

Bato sighed as he folded the paper and placed it on the table "Piandao, you shouldn't have to worry about this kind of stuff. You Aunt and I are doing fine for the moment. You have enough on your plate as it is. No need to add having a job on top of that"

"well you and Aunt Mai are always going on about how I should be a little more responsible, I thought getting a job to help you guys out would be it... or the start of it" Piandao replied.

"Your not wrong, but me and your Aunt don't want you taking a job because you feel obligated to" Bato said as he rubbed the back of his head tiredly.

"But I do want to help Uncle Bato. Besides this will help me in the long run once I start applying for a actual job after I'm done with school. Until now the only work experience I had was at the factory and fabric store you and Aunt Mai work at. Having this on top of that and maybe another job will help me get noticed by some of the other places out there. Who knows, maybe Future Industries will take me when I apply there" Piandao said.

Bato didn't respond as he stared passed Piandao at something only he could see before he sighed and rubbed the ridge between his eyes "We'll talk more about this when your Aunt gets home tonight. For now just... just get ready for dinner. I'm making her and your favorite tonight, Komodo Rhino sausage"

Piandao did his best not to look too discomforted by that, while his Uncle was great at making Water Tribe food, he was sorely lacking in Fire Nation cuisine. Usually it was him not cooking it enough, adding enough seasoning or spices or making the food out of order. Bato seemed to notice the look on his nephew's face and chuckled as he pointed towards the pot.

"Don't worry, I followed your Aunt's recipe to the letter"

"That's what you said last time Uncle Bato… and the time before that... and the time before that-" Piandao began before his Uncle cleared his throat.

"Piandao, trust me, this time will be different-"

"Which you said the last two times" Piandao said dryly with a headshake "Uncle, can't you just accept your horrible at making Fire Nation food? From what my Aunt told me, my dad did and left it to my mom"

Bato scoffed at this "Yes, well your father was a horrible cook to begin with so I wouldn't take what's said about his lack of culinary skills to heart in any shape or form"

Piandao chuckled as he made his way to his room "Whatever you say Uncle Bato. Just remember that Aunt Mai really doesn't like it when you mess with her favorite food"

"I'm aware Piandao" Uncle Bato replied with a chuckle as he went back to reading the paper as Piandao closed the door to his room to change and get ready for dinner.

...

Piandao yawned as he removed his shoes and pants and was starting to take his shirt off and toss it aside when he noticed something odd...

His shirt seemed to be stuck to his hand!

"The heck?" Piandao said with a frown as he tried to drop his shirt only to see it remained stuck to his hand like it was glued on.

Piandao scowled as he shook his head a few times to see if that would work before he began to pull on it. He made sure to be extra careful, he coudlnt afford to rip one of his few remaining good shirts by accident. After several minutes of tugging and pulling, Piandao finally got the shirt to unstick from his hand... and have it stick to the other. After scowling and muttering a series of curses that would leave a sailor blushing, Piandao was able to get the shirt unstuck from his hand and dropped it on the floor.

"Well. that was... new" Piandao said as he glanced down at his hand with a curious expression on his face as he heard his Aunt walk through the door and already start to complain about Bato cooking her nationality's food again.

' _I think it's time to see just what I can and can't do with these new abilities... assuming Uncle Bato's food doesn't kill me'_

...

* * *

And done.

Next chapter, Piandao decides to test out his abilities...


	6. Chapter 6

answers to reviewers questions or statements:

 **rmarcano321** : I'm not doing that many, only two.

 **RexBlazer1** : He'll meet her just before.

 **Slash17** : Their meeting will be very... tame, compared to how I've had Peter meet other women in my other stories.

 **Black Arachnid** : It's a good image, but I have something already a suit for this story's Spider-man to wear, the noir suit. Still, I might use the suit design you've offered for another story I have in mind, if that's okay.

 **CRUDEN** : No, this story will be exclusively for Spider-man characters, mainly villains and one or two heroes that are part of his mythos, even if there is a bit of distance between some of them... for now.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Legend of Korra characters seen, mentioned or used.

* * *

Today was the day.

Today, after years of preparation, Korra would finally begin her Spiritual training. When she was done, she'd be able to enter the Spirit World, commune with spirits and be one step closer to becoming a fully realized Avatar!

"UGH! WHY WON'T THIS WORK!" Korra yelled in frustration.

One step closer... on a very, very, very long journey.

"Avatar Korra if you would-" her spiritual tutor said before Korra let out another yell of frustration as she shot a small stream of fire from her mouth.

"I don't get it!" Korra snapped as she sat in a lotus position before her tutor in a small hut located within the compound "I've done everything you've said! Why can't I enter the Spirit World already?"

The tutor sighed at this "Korra, you must-"

"What I need a passport or something? Pay some fee?" Korra said with a scowl of annoyance as she folded her arms over her bust and glared at the ground "We've been here for hours and I feel I'm closer to mastering Airbending then getting this thing down!"

Her tutor waited as Korra vented more and more before he finally cleared his throat loud enough to get Korra's attention. The young Avatar glanced at the man as he stared at her with a calm expression. Korra chuckled sheepishly as she straightened herself.

"Sorry..."

"It is no worry, in fact I would have been surprised if you did happen to enter the Spirit world on your first ten tries" the man said with a small chuckle.

"UGH, I thought it was supposed to be easy. Me being the Avatar and all, you know? The bridge between the two worlds" Korra said with a sigh.

"If it were easy, everyone could do it" the tutor said with a grin "And just because you are the Avatar does not mean it'll come naturally to you as it has for some in the past. To enter the Spirit world, one must be in complete harmony within themselves"

"I'm plenty harmonious with myself" Korra said with a scowl.

"Your inability to do so, says otherwise" the man countered.

"Hey, you said you would've been surprised if-"

"Yes, in your first ten tries I would have" the man nodded in agreement "But after the twenty ninth time, I expected for you to at least make some headway"

Korra's shoulders slumped a little before she looked away with a pout "Well, what am I doing wrong?!"

"It could be a number of things child" the tutor said with a slight shrug "though I reckon it is your struggles with the more spiritual side of being the Avatar. Your physical prowess is impressive. But being the Avatar is not just about raw strength. It is about being balanced both in mind as well as body"

"Soooo your saying I have to be more spiritually? Like my uncle or something?" Korra said with confusion.

"Well, I wouldn't say that, there are many ways to strengthen your spirituality. Sometimes it comes naturally, other times, you must go through a great change to achieve it" the tutor said before he snapped his fingers "Perhaps you could meditate on it"

Korra gave the elder man a deadpan stare for several seconds before she sighed in defeat and resumed her meditative pose "Fine... lot a good that'll do"

Korra took several deep breaths as she focused on her breathing again. She mentally viewed her body as a box with many lids and she was surrounded by a ocean of spiritual stuff and then slowly began to open the lids, opening her body and mind up to the world and letting it's energy flow through her. At least thought she was, at this point she was willing to think of herself as a Mongoose lizard if it meant getting into the Spirit World and... well she'll figure out what to do next when she got there.

And then suddenly, everything was silent.

Korra frowned at this, the sounds of the wind outside and the crackling of the fire had stopped. She opened her eyes to see why that was before she gaped at what she saw. All she saw was a blank white space.

"What the hell?" Korra whispered as she slowly stood up and examined her surroundings for signs of someone else aside from her "This is not what I thought the Spirit World looked like..."

Her blue eyes looked up and down and back and forth, trying to find something recognizable before she took a deep breath and shouted.

"Hello?!"

Her voice didnt even echo, it just seemed to stop only a few feet from her. Korra frowned at this as panic began to set in. She began walking, hoping that moving would present a solution to her current dilemma. Her footfalls were silent, even the moving of her fabric made no noise.

 _'I can't even hear myself breath, or my heart beat... nothing. It's like I don't exists'_ Korra thought with worry before she noticed something up ahead.

She saw what looked like four figures, all standing in a small circle. Korra let out a sigh of relief as she rushed towards the four unknown individuals.

"Hello?" she called out as she neared them but saw that they were unresponsive "Uh excuse me?"

Korra came to a stop just a few meters from the four, her brow furrowed in confusion as she took their forms in. One was tall and red with large white glowing eyes while their body was sort of lankly and skinny. The figure next to it was shorter by a few inches and also red, but where's the first one was red like blood, this being was red like the pictures of Fire lilies that one of Korra's waterbending masters, Kya, showed her. Their eyes, or what passed for eyes were pitch black, almost like as void.

Korra shivered as she stared into the seemingly empty sockets before she turned her attention to the last two beings. The third tallest of the group was more heavily muscled then the two red beings before it. It also had a network of odd white veins across it's body that seemed to pulse. The final being, the shortest of the four, was snow white and covered in veins similar to it's larger, darker colored companion but instead of white, they were black and didn't seem to be pulsing so much as moving through it's body, as if they possessed a will of their own. It's eyes, were black like the Fire lily red being but nowhere near as dark or as foreboding.

"H-Hello?" Korra said as she cleared her throat.

Finally, the four turned to her, causing her to suddenly freeze up as their eyes all bore into her own. Despite the great power that Korra believed she possessed as the Avatar... she suddenly felt very small before the four unknown individuals. She swallowed nervously as one of the beings, the black one, began to slowly approach her.

"Do you... d-do you know where I am?" Korra said nervously as the figure came to a stop a few feet from her, it's form dwarfing her's.

The figure didnt respond as it quirked it's head to the side before it's eyes seemed to narrow into slits.

 _ **"Avatar..."**_

Korra felt the hairs on her body stand on end at the low, wispy cold voice it spoke in. It rolled over her body like ice cold water, seemingly trying to seep it's way into her very being. Korra took a step back as the figure seemed to glare into her very being.

"Who are you!" Korra said a little more forcefully, hoping the fear she felt growing in her wouldn't show itself.

The four stared at Korra in silence before one by one they began to fade away. First the blood red one, then the other red one, then the white one, leaving Korra alone with the black one, it's white veins pulsing to the point that the young woman thought they'd burst and start to leak. Finally the figure spoke as it leaned towards Korra and she fought the urge to whimper as what appeared to be a large tooth filled maw formed and a large sickly barbed tongue snaked it's way out and just inches from Korra's face.

 _ **"You cannot stop what is to come...**_ _ **Korra!"**_

 _ **"Korra!"**_

 _ **"Korra!"**_

 _ **"Kor-!"**_

...

"-ra!"

"AHH!" Korra shouted in surprise as she suddenly found herself back in the small hut, her tutor's face right in her's and before anything further was said, she shot her leg out, her foot connecting to the elder man's more sensitive area's below the waist, causing him to gasp in pain as he fell back and Korra backed away from the man.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing so close?!" Korra snapped, her pulse beating a mile a minute as she tried to get her breathing under control.

"I... was... trying... to... get... your... attention!" the man whispered in a pained moan as he clutched his family jewels.

"Oh... hehehe, sorry" Korra said with a nervous chuckle as she got up to help the man "Here, I can-"

"No!" he said with a pained wince, his brow covered in sweat "That'll... be all..."

"Sorry..." Korra said with a wince.

"It is... fine" the man said as he felt the pain fade and he sat back up with a groan "Though I'm certain I'll need to visit a healer later..."

Korra blushed as she poked the tips of her fingers together as the man took several deep breaths before he looked to Korra "Now... would you mind explaining what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Korra said with some confusion.

"You were acting... odd" the man said with a frown "You seemed to be in some sort of trance. For a moment, I believed you had entered the Spirit World"

"I entered... something" Korra said with a frown as the memory fo the four beings in that white space came to mind "But it didn't seem like the Spirit World, least any part Ive heard of"

"What do you mean?" the tutor said with a frown.

"The place I found myself in..." Korra said with a sigh as she rubbed the sweat off her brow "It was... nothing was there. I mean like nothing. Just me..."

"...Just you, Avatar Korra?" the man said with a interested expression, noticing the hesitation at the end.

Korra shook her head "No, there was... there were others. Four of them"

"Did you recognize them?" the man probed with curiosity.

"No..." the teen said with a frown "But they were... I don't know. There was something, not right about them"

"What?" the man said with a raised brow as Korra shrugged.

"Just, when you look at them, there's this sense of... wrongness about them. Like... like they shouldn't be here- there, whatever that place was" Korra said with a slight shiver as the four's appearances flowed through her mind "And then... one of them spoke to me"

"They spoke?" the man said as he cupped his chin "What did it say?"

"It said..." Korra trailed off as the memory of that thing's tongue came to mind, causing her to shiver "It said, I can't stop what was to come"

The man frowned at this "What could that mean?"

Korra didn't answer as she stared at the floor, that thing's voice echoing through her mind before she glanced outside to see that the sun was setting and darkness was approaching.

"I don't know..."

...

Piandao had to hold in a shiver as he made his way towards the docks, his coat doing little to keep him warm. While winter was still a month away, the air was already growing colder and snow was beginning to gather on the tops of the mountains around the city.

"Hopefully the heater will be fixed by then... or this winter is gonna suck" Piandao said to himself as he shivered at the cold gust of win that hit his body.

A few weeks ago, the Parkah's heater went out and Piandao and his uncle Bato have been struggling to get the old rusted thing working again. They couldn't afford to buy a new heater, not a reliable one anyway and the fabric shop that Aunt Mai worked at was raising it's prices on it's more layered clothing and thick blankets. It was times like this that Piandao hated capitalism.

Piandao's body suddenly went ridged and drew his attention back to his surroundings just in time to see that he had wandered into the middle of the street... and a Satomobile was coming right towards him. Without a second thought, Piandao leaped back as the truck raced by with a loud honk of its horn.

"Give out of the street dumbass!" the driver shouted as he drove pass.

"Sorry..." Piandao said dryly as he looked both ways before making his way across the street, the docks just up ahead.

They should be fairly empty, the morning and afternoon shifts had just gotten off half an hour ago and ships normally don't dock at night given the low visibility and there being only a skeleton crew to make sure no trespassers got in and stole or damaged the items in the various storage containers. Large empty warehouses, dozens of empty storage containers and a few unmanned ships with very few people around, it was the perfect place for Piandao to test out his abilities.

' _That, and it's close enough to my home that I can get back before my Aunt and uncle get home from work_ ' Piandao thought as he walked pass the gate to the docks and saw several guards standing watch.

He paid them no mind as he kept walking along the large stone wall that bordered the dockyard until he came to a stop. He glanced around to make sure no one could see him before he looked up at the wall and crouched. He waited a second before he launched himself into the air. Piandao couldn't help the excited grin that split his face as he soared twenty feet into the air and landed on the edge of the wall. He briefly stumbled and almost lost his balance before he righted himself and looked back down to see if anyone would notice him. Seeing he was still in the clear, Piandao looked down towards the ground and after taking a deep breath, took a step forward... and fell.

Piandao felt his pulse increase as he fell towards the ground before he landed in a crouch, his landing barely making a nose. He stood up and nodded in satisfaction as he made his way towards one of the vacant warehouses.

"That wasn't too bad..." Piandao said to himself as he walked through the empty dockyard, the sun beginning to set and casting the sky in a myriad of purples and pinks.

Based on his own mental calculations, and the large clock that hung over one of the nearby warehouse's large sliding doors, he had a few hours to test his newfound powers out before he had to get home. Piandao walked around for a few more minutes, leaping up on to some of the storage containers before leaping to another with his seemingly inhuman strength. He paused for a moment to pull out a small worn out notebook from his pocket and a pen and quickly jotted down a few notes.

' _Leg muscles increased to the point I can comfortable jump over twenty feet into the air. Gotta find a way to ensure my max height_ ' Piandao thought as he wrote down his notes before placing the notebook away and looked for somewhere to test out the strength in his arms.

He thought of lifting a container but he had no idea which ones had anything in them and didn't want to risk breaking whatever was inside. That and Piandao wasn't sure he could place a forty foot metal container back on the ground quietly enough.

 _'Maybe I can find a forklift to use- hello, what do we have here?'_ Piandao thought as he saw a window to one of the warehouses was left open.

Piandao made his way over to the building and looked up at the window with a calculating look on his face. He concluded that the height was sixty feet, almost three times what he jumped earlier at the wall. Taking a deep breath, Piandao crouched and then shot up towards the window with as much strength he could kick off with. He struck his hand out to grab the ledge before he noticed that he just came up short two or three meters from the ledge.

"Dang it" Piandao grumbled as he let gravity pull him back down before he landed with a grunt and looked back up towards the window as he pulled his note book out again "Well, at least I know I can jump over fifty feet..."

He quickly wrote this little detail down before he looked around for something he could stand on to help him cover the last few meters. Seeing nothing, and the nearest stacks of storage containers high enough for him to leap off and to the window being a good hundred feet away, Piandao sighed in defeat and prepared to look for another building to sneak into when he suddenly remembered something.

"My shirt... it stuck to my hand..." Piandao said as he looked down at his hands with a thoughtful expression.

So far, he's concluded his abilities were based off that of a spider. Granted he doesn't know if that danger sense, had to think of a better name for it, was something any kind of spider had but he did have the strength and speed part... why not the ability to stick to things?

"Worth a shot I guess" Piandao said with a shrug as he placed his hand on the wall.

He felt a sort of suction and pulled slightly to see if his hand would come off easily or not... it didn't.

Nodding to himself, and taking a quick look around to make sure no was nearby, he placed his other hand on the wall, higher than his head and pulled himself up. Piandao felt his feet dangle for a moment before he placed them on the wall and looked at his lower hand and slowly pulled it off and placed it above his other hand, causing him to rise higher on the wall. Piandao paused and looked down to see that he was now several feet up the wall before he took a deep breath and looked up towards the window and began to climb.

 _'Slow and steady_ _Piandao, slow and steady'_ Piandao thought as he slowly but surely began to climb the wall and reached the window just as the sun had fully set and darkness crept across the sky.

Piandao paused on the window still and looked out towards Republic City.

From his vantage point, he could see the distant statue of Avatar Aang, Air Temple Island, the towering skyscrapers that gave Republic City's it's famous skyline. For a moment, Piandao thought the city looked peaceful, a shining utopia for the world to model itself after. But then reality crept in nd Piandao remembered that as bright and as inviting as the city seemed, it held a dark almost suffocating underbelly.

"Guess nothing is perfect..." Piandao said to himself with a sigh as he slipped through the window and landed on the ground inside the warehouse.

Eventually Piandao made it to the main area where various companies would store the items taken off any ships or stored until they could be placed on a ship and noticed that aside from a few forklifts and some crates, it was remarkably empty. The lights were off and if Piandao didn't have what he concluded was night vision, or close to it, it'd be pitch black in the room.

"Least I wont need lights to try this out, don't want to risk catching someone's attention" Piandao said with a hum as he removed his jacket and placed it on a crate and took his notebook out and quickly dotted down he could climb walls with his hands.

Piandao paused for a second and looked down at his feet with a thoughtful look on his face before he placed the notebook down and removed his boots and placed them next to his jacket. Before pocketing the notebook and walking over to a nearby storage container and placed his foot on the cool metal. Piandao shivered slightly as he felt the odd suction on his foot before he very slowly leaned forward, using a combination of strength and balance, to lift his other foot and place it on the metal as well before straightening himself out until he was parallel to the floor and looking up at the ceiling.

"Well, looks like I can add walking on walls too!" Piandao said with a snort as he slowly walked towards the top of the storage container before turning on his heel and walking back down and repeating the process several times.

Soon, Piandao was walking the length of the storage container, slowly gaining speed until he was running. Trying to change sides was a little awkward and a bit disorienting but nothing that practice couldn't fix. Next he tried crawling before going to standing to crouching to running and back again, first on the container and then on the walls and ceilings of the warehouse once he thought he had enough practice and the thought of falling didn't bother him as much.

"Okay, so I can stick to walls, climb walls, run on walls and jump to other surfaces" Piandao said as he began to run on the ceiling before he jumped and adjusted his body so that he landed on the adjacent wall in a crouch and pulled out his notebook and began to write down a few notes.

 _'See if adhesiveness is a result of tiny hairs like that on spider snakes and spider cats or if it's something else. Maybe some sort of liquid that my body secretes to help it stick to things like a spider at_ ' Piandao thought to himself as he wrote down a added note if his ability can work when he's wearing gloves or boots.

Piandao then detached himself from the wall and fell to the ground and looked around until his eyes centered on a old forklift. He quietly made his way over to the rusted machinery and examined it closely. After seeing it wasn't going to fall apart, Piandao took a deep breath and grabbed the forklift and began to slowly raise it.

"Huh, not as bad... as I thought" Piandao said as he slowly lifted the old machine over his head.

To him, it didn't feel too heavy, more like carrying a large bag of some of the books he likes to read. After a few seconds of holding it, Piandao began to adjust his holding until he was keeping it over his head with one hand. It was than that he started to feel the strain as he tried to keep the forklift balanced on his palm as sweat began to build on his forehead.

 _'_ _Hmm, should probably work out more...'_ Piandao thought with a chuckle as he returned to holding the forklift with both hands and slowly lowered it back to the ground and retrieved his notebook and jotted down a few more notes ' _Can lift a old forklift over my head and hold it for a few minutes before strain begins. Holding it with one hand, more difficult'_

Piandao glanced back at the forklift as he ran through a few mental calculations ' _These things usually weigh between eight and nine thousand pounds, that's roughly four to four and a half tons. Average Satomobile weighs around the same. Shouldn't be difficult to lift one too'_

It was than the memory of Piandao's 'fight' with that bully came to mind and he quickly dotted down one final note _'Find a way to manage strength so I don't end up breaking someone when I touch them'_

Piandao wrote down a few more notes, mainly ideas on how to better manage his strength before he looked back at the forklift and gave it what he thought was a light shove, sending it sliding several meters across the floor.

Piandao smirked a little at this as he turned to go and collect his things and leave before it got too late "Heh, looks like Puny Parkah is gone... now I just need to work on getting rid of Pasty Parkah and I'm set!"

To Piandao, it seems like his luck was finally starting to improve.

...

* * *

And done.

Next chapter, Asami's drive through the city takes an interesting turn...


	7. Chapter 7

answers to reviewers questions and statements:

 **Gamerslegacy** : There are no guns in the Avatar universe.

 **RexBlazer1** : There's gonna be quite a bit of Lovecraftian inspired horror moments to come, especially with those four 'unknown individuals'.

 **crawforddarius7** : I get it you want a crossover between the two, no need to ask for one in every single review of all of my stories.

 **Guest** : We'll be getting an idea of hos they end up becoming a couple before the events of season 1. They share a certain passion for something.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Legend of Korra characters seen, mentioned or used.

* * *

There are times that Asami wished she wasn't the daughter of Hiroshi Sato, heir to the Sato fortunate which in turn would make her one of the top ten richest people on Earth. Times she wished that she and her father were nothing but simple ordinary people that lived ordinary lives in one of the parts of the city that didn't seem like it was made for Kings and Queens.

"It'd make finding and having friends easier..." Asami muttered a she sat in her father's office and stared out at the city with a bored expression.

Most girls her age would usually be out and about in the big city, shopping or going to some restaurant with boys or getting into illegal street races. But since her father has slated for her to take over his company in just a few short years, he's been pushing her to learn more and more about how the company works, does business with potential investors and possible rivals. Which meant long hours at the office and the chances to salvage a possible social life dwindling a little more with each passing day. She had enough issues trying to find people to be friends with her that weren't after her money or intimidated by her wealth, but this was starting to give her the image that she was all business and no pleasure...

Asami glanced at the door that led to the meeting room her father was currently using to speak with a few investors. Normally she'd be in on them but her father strangely wanted her to sit this one out. Instead he suggested that she go out and have fun with her friends...

"Oh daddy, if only you knew" Asami said with a sigh as she went back to looking outside the window while trying to ignore the fact that she was going to be there for another two hours.

Several minutes passed before Asami heard her stomach growl, causing her to blush a little before she glanced at the door to the conference room. after a few minutes of debating, and hearing her stomach growl like a Sabretooth Moose Lion, she sighed and sat up and made her way to the door, stopping only for a second to fetch her goggles and helmet before making her way to the elevator.

"Might as well get something to eat..." Asami said to herself as she stepped into the elevator and hit the button that would take her to the building's garage, where her Moped was stored.

…

Several minutes later Asami, now on her Moped, drove aimlessly around the city, trying to find a place for her to grab lunch. She wasn't normally a picky eater, but today Asami was craving something baked, and perhaps a few cups of tea to go with it. She thought of going to a small bakery that her father normally liked to eat at but lately quite a few people of the 'Equalist' movement went there and stir up all kinds of fuss.

She'd rather eat in peace, thank you very much.

 _'Sometimes I wonder how my father can put up with that garbage_ ' Asami thought with a sigh as she weaved her way through the traffic and on her way to a small bakery her mother used to take her to when she was younger.

Asami had just turned on to the street that housed the old bakery when she hit the brakes and came to a complete stop and stared at the scene with wide eyes.

"What the hell...?" she muttered as she saw numerous Police cars, ambulances and a few of the Fire departments' trucks cluttering the road.

Several of the buildings were damaged, sporting broken windows, chunks of building missing and a few toppled over Satomobiles that were still smoldering after the Fire Department's waterbenders put them out. Asami quickly got off her Moped and moved it to the side and approached the nearest officer who was busy keeping several other onlookers back.

"What happened?" Asami asked as she took in the scene before her.

One of the onlookers glanced at her before nodding towards several figures lying on the ground a few meters away with white sheets over them "The Inner Demons. They attacked one of the Triple Threat Triads places. Took out a few of their guys and a couple of Metalbenders that responded to the scene"

Asmai's eyes widened at this "The Inner Demons..."

The onlooker nodded sadly "Yeah... we have enough issues with that equalist movement stirring up trouble, but now this? The hell is our city coming too!?"

Asami didn't respond as she looked back towards the scene and watched as several medics placed one of the sheet covered bodies on a stretcher and began to carry it towards one of the ambulances.

"It's truly a tragedy" a voice spoke up from behind Asami.

The Sato heiress looked behind her to see a man that looked to be a few years younger than her father looking at the scene with a saddened expression. It took a few seconds for the man's face to be recognized.

"Mǎ ding Lee?" Asami said in surprise.

Mǎ ding glanced at Asami and gave her a small friendly smile along with a small bow "Hello miss..."

"Hello" Asami replied with a small bow of her own "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping to meet with a few possible investors for opening up another Feast shelter nearby..." Mǎ ding said with a sigh as he looked back towards the devastation only a few meters away "But I guess that will have to be put on hold for the time being"

Asami followed his gaze with a frown "I guess their getting bolder"

"Indeed" Mǎ ding said with a nod as he turned to leave "If I were you miss Sato, I'd think about getting out of the city for a while. Something tells me these, Inner Demons, are just getting started..."

Asami watched the man go before she glanced back one more time towards the scene before she sighed and placed her helmet back on and made her way back to her Moped.

"So much for a quiet and relaxing lunch" Asami said to herself as she hopped back on her Moped, started it up and drove away from the scene just as a Police airship arrived to help secure the scene.

It wasn't until she was several blocks away and looking for somewhere selse to eat before something occurred to her "Wait a second... how'd he know who I was?"

As far as Asami knew, she never met Mǎ ding Lee before today.

 _'_ _Weird... even weirder he could recognize me with my goggles on still_ ' she thought to herself as she saw that she was driving into the more... rough part of the city.

Asami's grip on the steering tightened just a fraction as she drove through the less well maintained streets. She had to hold hack a gag as a particularly powerful stench hit her as she passed a alleyway that was filled with trash, a Satomobile without wheels and a windshield and doors. Soon the young heiress entered a more upkeeped area and the people looked nicer and less likely to rob Asami. She also caught a whiff of something good cooking in the air and did her best to try and follow the smell, hoping it was a bakery she could eat at.

After a few turns, and a quick U-Turn, Asami found a small parking space to leave her Moped... with a secure lock attaching it to a railing.

Once Asami was sure her Moped wasn't going anywhere, she crossed the street and came to a stop at the source of the pleasant aroma that she caught earlier.

"This Silver Tea Spoon" Asami muttered as she looked up at the shop's name before she shrugged and entered the small building and was almost immediately met with a waiter that she thought was of Water Tribe descent.

"Hello, welcome to Silver Tea Spoon" the man said with a slight bow as he gestured to a nearby table.

"Hello, and thank you" Asami returned his bow with one of her own and let the man escort her to the table and handed her a small menu with a variety of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom teas.

 _'They even have a few Water Tribe blends_ ' Asami thought as she examined the menu.

The prices were fair, not too expensive but not too cheap either. Next to each Tea was a small paragraph of what was in it and a few had a couple of little additions one could add to the tea. After a few seconds of examining the various beverages, Asami gave the waiter her order and also asked for one of the 'muffins' they had.

"Your order shall be ready momentarily, the muffin will take a little longer as their made by hand but I guarantee you wont regret it" the waiter said with a bow as he quickly rushed to the kitchen.

Asami looked around and noticed that the shop wasn't very large, at best it was the size of the garage her and her father would tinker around in. Several minutes passed before the waiter returned and Asami thanked the man as he poured her a cup of Darjeeling tea before retreating back to the kitchen to retrieve her muffin which even she could smell was delicious. The Sato heiress used this time to observe the shop more as she sipped her beverage. Aside from herself, a boy that looked to be around her age sitting on a stool tinkering with a old radio, and a elderly couple at the other table, the shop was remarkably empty.

 _'Shame...'_ Asmai thought with a frown as she looked down at her drink _'This tea is really good. Better than Kwong's Cuisine even!'_

Asami took a few more sips of her drink before she reseetled her gaze on the boy sitting not too far from her. She noticed that he was carefully dessasembling the radio in his hands with relative ease and carefully putting the parts on a small chair in front of him. After a few seconds, the boy had all the parts before him and gave them all a careful glance before she watched him pick up a few wires and exmained them closely.

He muttered a few words too low for her to properly hear before she saw him lean down into a small bag by his feet and pull out a few other wires and a small wire cutter. Asami also watched the boy exmaine the dials and frowned before he placed them off to the side and began to replace the wires by disconnecting them and connecting the newer wires.

 _'Wow, he's good'_ Asami thought as she watched the boy repair several other pieces with a sort of skill and speed she's only ever seen from her father.

After a few minutes, and a few refils of her tea and a second muffin after she ate the first, she saw the boy begin the process of putting the radio back together, far faster than when he took it apart and then switched it on.

The shop was then filled with the sound of an add for Cabbage Corp's new Airships, casuing Asami to mentally roll her eyes as the boy put the tools away.

"Hey Rafa?" the boy said as he turned towards Asami's waiter.

"Yeah?" Rafa said as he was taken the tea pot back for Toz to refill.

"Let the boss know I got the radio to work again so he wont have to go buy a new one like he planned to" the boy nodded towards the radio as he adjusted a few dials until a soft, soothing song began to play.

"Really?" Rafa said as he glanced at the radio and nodded "Finally, now I can listen to the Pro-bending matches again!"

The teen grunted as he sat up and cracked his neck before he saw that Asami was looking at him "Uhhh, can I help you miss?"

Asami blinked before she realized that he caught her staring and cleared her throat "Oh, uh no. Sorry, I was just watching you take apart the radio and you seemed really... good"

The boy blinked at this before he snorted in amusement "Yeah, plenty of practice keeping my Aunt and Uncle's radio going. It's a little older than this one but it works just the same"

"It's still impressive" Asami said with a grin as she nodded towards the radio "Especially with how quickly you took it apart and then put it back together"

"Like I said, practice. There isn't a lot of things I can't fix if given the time" the boy said with a shrug as he went and placed the radio on the bar and turned the volume up a little louder.

"Hmm, pretty bold staement there" Asami said with a grin as she leaned back in her chair.

"But no less true" the boy said with a short laugh as he took a napkin and began to wipe his hands.

Asami smirked at the teen as she held her hand out "Asami…"

The boy looked at her hand for a second before he slowly took it and shook "Piandao…"

As the two shook one another's hand, Asami noted that Piandao had a pretty strong grip, it felt like it belonged to someone that was half a foot taller and probably a hundred pounds more muscular then the slim teen in front of her.

 _'Talk about deceptive appearances'_ Asami thought with amusement before she noticed that she and Piandao were still shaking hands.

She quickly released it with a sheepish grin "Heh, sorry about that. Mind wandered for a second"

"It's fine" Piandao replied with a small chuckle as he scratched the back of his head "I have stocky hands"

Asami cocked a brow at this "Really?"

Piandao blinked at this before his face started to turn red "W-Wait, that's not what I meant. I mean that I-"

His stuttering was cut off by Asami's giggle before she looked at him with amusement "Slip of the tongue?"

"Y-Yeah... mind doesn't always register what's about to come out" Piandao said with a cough as he found the floor to be very interesting all of a sudden.

"I take it that mouth of yours has gotten you in plenty of 'sticky situations' hmm?" Asami teased as she took another sip of her drink.

"More than I care to count" Piandao said with a snort "And it's not so much sticky as embarrassing and painful. Usually not in that order"

"Heh, I hear that" Asami said as she gestured to the seat in front of her "Wanna sit down?"

Piandao hummed at this before he glanced back towards the kitchen and the manager's office. He noticed Ming at the bar but she didn't seem to worried about him sitting with Asami. Her attention was more on the small book she was reading and he could hear Toz, Rafa and Chin talking in the kitchen. After a few seconds, Piandao shrugged and sat down.

"I guess no one will mind if I decide to sit here. To test out the chairs, make sure they don't break when someone sits on them" Piandao said with a chuckle.

Asami nodded at this "Of course. Can't have customers coming ordering tea and then spilling it because their chairs gave out"

"Exactly" Piandao said with a laugh "Though maybe taking a little more fruits and vegetables on their plate instead of Artic Hen stir fry wouldn't hurt"

"artic Hen, isn't that a water tribe thing?" Asami asked as she leaned back in her chair.

"It is, one of my favorites, especially when you add a couple of spices from the Fire Nation. Everything tastes better with Fire Nation spices" Piandao said with a grin.

Asami laughed at this as she took another sip of her drink "Finally someone makes sense in the world. My mother used to put all kinds of spices in our food when she cooked for me and my dad. Burned our mouths but it was sooo good!"

"It ain't a proper Fire Nation meal if you don't get second degree burns on your gums and throat" Piandao nodded in a manner fitting for a sage, causing Asami to giggle.

"You good at cooking since your obviously a expert" Asami teased.

"I know a few things..." Piandao said with a sheepish grin "I know how to make some killer Komodo Rhino Curry"

"Really?" Asami said with a raised brow "Heard it's hard to make. Too much seasoning and spice and it ruins the flavor, not enough and it's bland as tofu"

Piandao laughed at this "Yeah, those seem to be the only ways my father and Uncle could make it whenever they tried. I have my Aunt and Mom to thank for teaching me how to make it the right way"

Asami hummed at this "I'll have to try it some time, if you don't mind"

"I'll be happy to do so, just know it won't be for free" Piandao said with a snort "And I'm gonna need a workable stove, and clean pots and a pan to cook the Komodo Rhino meat in before chopping it"

"You want me to buy you a entire kitchen while I'm at it?" Asami teased.

"If you don't mind" Piandao said as he cupped his chin in thought "I'll also need some Cloves, some Fire Nation cinnamon and a wee bit of Earth Kingdom Long peppers to give it that little kick"

"I'll get right on that" Asami giggled as she finished the last of her tea before she held the empty cup up "Can I expect some tea as well?"

"No, I'm awful at making tea" Piandao said with a sigh as his shoulders slumped "My Aunt says I bring great shame to my home country by being unable to make it"

"What, someone with Fire Nation blood in them can't make good tea?" Asami gasped in shock before she playfully narrowed her eyes at Piandao "Shame upon you and your whole line!"

"We will bear that shame with pride!" Piandao announced in a serious tone that caused Asami to break out into a fit of laughter.

"For some reason, I can see that happening" Asami said as she tried to control herself.

"Ah, so you can recognize my iron will and ability to overcome great odds" Piandao smiled as he puffed his chest out a bit.

"More like sheer stubbornness" Asami replied with a snort.

"Well I have been told I inherited my father's stubbornness" Piandao said as he pondered over Asami's words and even the words echoed by his Aunt on 'Parkah stubbornness' over the years "Must be a Water Tribe thing"

"Well you'd have to be pretty stubborn to wanna set up a civilization in the artic of all places" Asami agreed with a smirk.

"Earthbenders got nothing on us" Piandao said with a snort "Stubborn as a rock? Try stubborn as ice, it ain't moving any time soon and if it does, new ice is gonna take that spot"

Asami giggled before she and Piandao both heard the boy's name. The two turned to see what Asami figured was the manager of the establishment.

"Yeah boss?" Piandao said as he stood up.

The man responded by throwing his thumb over his shoulder "Rafa needs your help fixing the heater"

Piandao nodded as he turned back to Asami "Well, duty calls"

"Ah of course, and it's always when things start to get fun" Asami said in amusement with a shake of her head.

Piandao laughed as he went and retrieve the tool bag the manager loaned to him "If you need anything miss Asami, don't be afraid to ask"

"Sure..." Asami said as she watched the teen head into the kitchen and immediately began to loudly express his displeasure to Rafa on starting without him.

Asami giggled in amusement as the woman from the bar portion of the shop came over with a full kettle of tea and poured it into her cup.

"Thank you" Asami said towards the woman with a nod.

"Your welcome miss" the girl said as she went back to the counter while Asami took a sip of her drink.

 _'Note to self, bring daddy here next time. He'd love it!'_

And it may sort of kinda, possibly give her an excuse to talk with Piandao again.

She hadn't had that much fun talking to a boy over anything in a long time...

…

Several hours later, after Asami had long since gone home and the Silver Tea Spoon had closed for the evening, Piandao was slowly making his way back home. The train was down, apparently there was some incident on the tracks between the Agni Kai's and the Inner Demons, forcing Piandao to get home the old fashion way. Luckily the temperature wasn't too bad and the moon was out, giving Piandao enough light to walk through the dark streets. With is enhanced eyesight, the few working streets lights in this part of the city and the moon, to Piandao, it was almost as bright as it would be during the day.

' _Hmm, should probably invest in some glasses'_ Piandao thought as he glanced towards the city center where the lights were more vibrant ' _Walking through there could be a problem. All that light, I might go blind!'_

Piandao knows that it's unlikely his eyes would be damaged enough by the lights to go blind, his apparent enhanced healing would prevent there from being any lasting damage, but he would like to walk through the city at night without having to squint whenever he got close to downtown.

'Eh, I'll worry about it later' Piandao thought with a shrug as he turned on to his street and made his way towards his house.

Piandao noticed that some of the houses didn't have lights on, causing him to frown. While it was late, it wasn't that late and some of his neighbors were like Cat Owls, almost up all throughout the night. Before Piandao could give it anymore thought, he arrived at his house and slowly climbed the small stair case and made his way inside, being very carefully not to crush the doorknob like he almost did this morning, and the time before that.

"Aunt Mai, Uncle Bato, I-m- oh" Piandao said as he entered to see his Aunt and Uncle sitting at the table.

But what caught his attention was the tension in the air. The moment Piandao stepped into the house he could feel it, almost like a crushing force that caused him to stop and gather his bearings before pushing through. Uncle Bato looked up at Piandao and gave the teen a small grin "hey kiddo, how was work?"

"Okay, kinda a slow day but wasn't too bad" Piandao said as he removed his jacket and hung it up as he approached the two.

"Good to hear... good to hear..." Uncle Bato said with a small nod.

"Yeah, how great" Aunt Mai whispered harshly, causing Piandao to quirk a brow. The young teen gave his Aunt and Uncle an uneasy look as he looked at the two "Hey, what's wrong?"

Aunt Mai said nothing, she meerly glared at the table with a dark look that Piandao had never seen on her before, even at her angriest. Uncle Bato had a sort of resignation on his as he spoke in a tired tone.

"Piandao, we... your Aunt lost her job at the fabric store and... I was finally let go at the factory. Which means we wont be able to afford to pay our bills this month, and the medical bill of that boy from school which means-"

"We're losing the house and will be on the streets just in time for winter like a bunch of Elephant Rats" Aunt Mai said with watery eyes as she glared at the table with such intensity that Bato and Piandao half expected it to comburst into ashes.

Piandao stared at his suragate parents with wide unblinking eyes as their words processed through his mind. After a few tense seconds, Piandao finally found his voice, but when he spoke, it was nothing more than a shocked whisper.

"...What?"

...

* * *

And done.

Next chapter, desperation...


	8. Chapter 8

answeres to reviewers questions or stateents:

 **RexBlazer1** : Yeah, that trope might work with some characaters but I feel that wouldn't fit with Asami's character, the whole arguing thing seems out of place with her. With Korra on the other hand, she might bicker and argue with Piandao just to bicker and argue. Plus it'd fit her character at the time she gets to Republic City and meets Piandao and let's be honest, Spider-man's quips, jokes and consrant talking is bound to get a rise out of her.

 **The Storm Master 567** : Maybe, maybe not.

 **Tom2011** : Oh things will be going down.

 **Gamerslegacy** : What do you mean by Felicia Hardy type attachement?

 **TeddyBearGuru97** : Plus it's more believeable he starts off with such a underwhelming, boring job. I mean it wouldnt make much sense if some guy from this era's poverty stricken ghetto got a job at what's basically the era's Apple/Ford. Piandao will eventually get 'the job' at Future Industries, but it'll be a while. Like after he's pretty well established as Spider-man.

Disclaimer: I domn't own any Marvel or Legend of Korra characters seen, mentioned or used.

* * *

 _"Piandao, we... your Aunt lost her job at the fabric store and... I was finally let go at the factory. Which means we wont be able to afford to pay our bills this month, and the medical bill of that boy from school which means-"_

 _"We're losing the house and will be on the streets just in time for winter like a bunch of Elephant Rats" Aunt Mai said with watery eyes as she glared at the table with such intensity that Bato and Piandao half expected it to comburst into ashes._

 _Piandao stared at his suragate parents with wide unblinking eyes as their words processed through his mind. After a few tense seconds, Piandao finally found his voice, but when he spoke, it was nothing more than a shocked whisper._

 _"...What?"_

"Piandao, you okay?"

Piandao blinked at the sound of Asami's voice and looked up from his cup of tea to see that she was looking at him with a concerned frown on her face.

"I'm sorry?" Piandao said with a bit of confusion.

"You looked a little... unhappy" Asami said as she cupped her own cup of tea as she sat across from Piandao at the Silver Tea Spoon barely two weeks after his Aunt and Uncle dropped the mother of all bombshells on him "You've been stairing at the table for the past few minutes like someone told you that the world was coming to an end"

 _'Might as well be... for me at least'_ Piandao thought as he nodded "Yeah I'm fine, just a little distracted is all"

"Is it something serious?" she asked which caused Piandao to wave her concern off with a small laugh.

"Nah, it's just a dumb thing. Really. I'm just stresseing over it because I'm over thinking it too much" Piandao said as he took a sip of his tea "Like usual"

Asami nodded at this though her look of concern reamined. She's noticed that the past few times she's come by, Piandao's mood has been... grim. At first she thought that maybe it was because one of the shop's employees, Ming, was just let go by the manager but to her it seemed a lot deeper than the loss of a co-woker. Asami's tried to be patient and let Piandao explain what's bothering him but lately it seemed he was retreating more and more into himself. She's thought of asking, but she wasn't so sure he'd be willing to open up about whatever it was that was eating at him any time soon.

 _'Sure we get along well enough, but I don't think we've been freinds long enough to start having any heart to heart things'_ Asami thought as she and Piandao drak their tea in silence.

Rafa was in the back taking inventory with the manager and Chin while Toz was listening to some announcement from the Fire Nation, leaving Piandao to deal with any customers that came in or to fetch the manager should the local Triad show up for it's 'protection fee'.

"So Asami..." Piandao began as he refilled his and Asami's cups "Not that I don't mind you coming by for a cup of our tea, but what brings a girl like you all the way out here?"

Asami quikred a brow at this "What do you mean?"

Piandao gestured to her clothes "You may not be dressed like you've come from some gala, but even Toz can tell you come from some serious money. And that guy's half blind believe it or not"

Asami chcukled at the remark before her face sobered a litte "You saying I'm too good for this place?"

"Partly" Piandao admitted with a nod as he rubbed the back of his head "But I'm just curious as to what exactly would drag a girl like you all the way to one of the poorest ends of the city. It sure as hell isn't because of our charm. We can't afford it"

Asami grinned a little at this before she took a sip of her tea and said "Well, believe it or not, I actually like the tea you guys sell here. It's better than half the places I've been to downtown and in the Jade lion turtle district"

"Liar" Peter said with a snort.

"Truth" Asami replied with a laugh "And the company here is charming enough. Much better quality than most places at any rate"

Piandao smirked a little at this "Yeah, that's Toz for ya. He may be a little to passionate about Fire Nation might and glory, but can't deny the man's charm. Or tea"

"Yeah... Toz..." Asami said with a grin.

"Heh... yeah..." Piandao said before he glanced out the window and forwned when he noticed a particular Satomobile driving down the street.

Asami noticed Piandao's expression and followed his gaze to see one of her company's more luxurious Satomobiles parking by the curb outside. Three men climbed out and based on their respective attires and skin pigmentations, they were part of the local Triad, the Triple Threats. A gang compoased of Earthbenders, Waterbenders and Firebenders that had their fingers in just about every sort of illegal activity in the city, ranging from racketeering to drug production and distribution.

"So much for a relaxing day..." Piandao said with a sigh as he and Asami watch the three men made a beeline right for the shop.

"Freinds of yours?" Asami asked as she glanced back at Piandao.

"The local hoodlums" Piandao said dryly as he finished his tea before standing up "You might wanna leave while I go fetch the manager. He might not have enough money to pay these guys off and they might decide to trash the place in return"

"You think I can't handle myself?" asami asked with a frown.

"More like I don't think we can survive whatever lawsuit your family throws at us in the event you get hurt" Piandao said with a pointed look and was about to head back and fetch the manager before he suddenly appeared behind Piandao with a dark look on his face.

"Ah, our esteemed guests have arrived..." the manager said as the three men entered the establishemnt "Right on time"

"Hey Minky" one of the men said, his attire and skin pigmentation marking him as someone of water tribe descent. The man took a look around the shop with a small smirk on his face while the rest of his group filed in "See business has been good"

"It has" Minky said with a sigh "I take it your here for your fee Shin?"

The man that was known to a many in the /Underground as Shady Shin chuckled at this "Yes, but we're actually here to have a meeting with a potential friend of ours"

Minky paled at this "What?"

"Relax Minky, we ain't gonna burn him in such a fine establishment" another member of the Triad said, a man clad in clothes fitted for someone of Fire Nation origin and a scar on the left side of his face. He glanced at Asami and Piandao and smirked "Hey kids, enjoying your date?"

"We're not on a date/We're not dating" Piandao and Asami said at the same time, causing the man to snicker.

"Yeah, sure you ain't" the man said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper and tossed it towards Piandao "Maybe for your next 'not a date', you can give this place a try. Maybe you can earn a few Yuan and go someplace higher end then this place"

"I happen to find this place just fine" Asami said with a scowl towards the scarred man while Peter reached down and picked up the paper to see that it was a folded up flier for some sort of underground fighting ring.

Piandao read it for a few seconds and felt his eyes widen when he recognized it was the same place that his Uncle has been trying to make some extra Yuan at the past few weeks.

"Just take your fee and get the hell out of my shop" Minky said with a glare towards Shady Shin as Chin came from his office with the money to give to the Triple Threats.

"We will, after our meeting" Shady Shin said as he snatched the money from Chin and gave it a quick look before he pulled a quarter of it out and handed it back to Minky with a smirk "Since we're gonna be staying here a little longer and have some of your tea, figured I'd be an upstanding kind of guy and pay it up front"

Minky's glare, Piandao was certain, could melt the metal off a warship as he reluctantly took some of the money back and turned towards Chin and Piandao "You heard them boys, they'll be staying form some tea"

"And some of those muffins you guys got" the firebender of the group said with a grin as he waved a menu around "I'll take a few of those" he then nodded towards the Earthbender with them "So will Bumi"

"I like muffins Ping" Bumi said with a laugh.

"Coming right up" Minky said with narrowed eyes as he turned and headed for the kitchen with Chin right behind him.

Piandao spared a glanced at Asami and gave her an apologetic look as he followed the rest towards the back to prepare the three men's orders while they took a seat at a table next to Asami's. The Sato heiress resisted the urge to groan as the one called Ping gave her a wink.

"So, what brings a dame like you all the way out here?" he asked.

"The tea" Asami replied with narrowed eyes at the man.

"Just the tea?" he suggested with a grin.

"And somewhere to puke after sitting next to a pile of garbage and the trash that follows him around like stray moose lion cubs" Asami said.

"Shin chuckled at this before he glanced at his associates with a smirk "So, whose the trash and whose the garbage?"

"I say I'm garbage" Bumi said with a confident nod.

"No arguments here" Ping said with a laugh while Shin grinned as they waited for Bumi to realize he insulted himself.

"Hey, wait a minute" Bumi said with wide eyes "I take it back, I'm trash!"

"We know since the moment we first saw ya" Shin said with a laugh.

 _'I swear I'm getting dumber just sitting next to these three'_ Asami thought with a dry look at the men as she pushed her tea away, having lost her appetite after the three men came in and ruined the mood for the shop.

A few minutes later, Piandao appeared with a pot of tea, several cups and a plate with a few muffins on them and placed them on the Triad's table. Ping took one of the muffins and bit into it while Shin and Bumi took the tea while Piandao stepped away and was about to head back into the kitchen when suddenly Shin spoke up.

"Hey, have we met?" Shin asked as he stared at Piandao's face.

Piandao stopped and turned and looked at the man for a second before he shook his head "Not that I recall"

Shin hummed at this before he went back to his tea while Ping pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time "when the hell is this guy supposed to get here?"

"Any minute now" Shin replied as he glanced out the window and saw an approaching high end looking Satomobile "That should be him right now"

"Here's hoping he made the smart move" Ping said as he reached for another muffin "Be a shame to have to redecorate his house with him"

"Heh, yeah. Get his kids to help" Bumi chuckled darkly.

As the three men talked amongst themselves, Piandao passed by Asami's table and gestured for her to follow him towards the kitchen. She didn't need to be told twice as she grabbed her bag and followed the teen into a fairly cramped kitchen. Minky, who was talking with Toz and Chin gave Asami a apologetic look as she entered the room.

"I'm sorry for today miss"

Asami gave him a comforting smile "It's fine sir. It happens to everyone"

"Really?" Chin asked with a raised brow.

"You'll be surprised how many 'gentlemen' ruin my afternoon by barging on in like they own the place" Asami said dryly.

While Kwong's Cuisine was a quote 'respectable business', it was also a haven for the upper ruling class of Triads, specifically the Agni Kai's, the Dragon Tails, and Coal Vipers. On a number of occasions, Asami and her father had to leave the place when it looked like things were starting to get a little too heated between the negotiating Triads and it looked like a full blown gang war was about to break out.

 _'Hopefully that doesn't happen here'_ Asami thought as she glanced at the door and through the small window just made out the man the Triple Threats were here to meet sitting down at their table.

"Anyone got a board for Pai Sho?" Chin asked with a sigh "We're gonna be here a while"

"Can't we listen to the radio?" Minky asked.

"It's still outside" Piandao said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah dammit" Minky said with a sigh before he wandered over towards the fridge and glanced at Toz "I'm having some of your Choujiu"

"Pour me a glass" Toz said as he picked up a few glasses to use.

Asami watched as the three men got settled while Piandao stared out at the Triads with a frown on his face. She followed his gaze for a moment before she placed a hand on his shoulder "You okay?"

"Yeah, just wondering why he said if we've met before" Piandao said with a shrug "I've never seen the guy before, even after I started working here"

"Just because you didn't see him, doesn't mean he didn't see you at some point" Asami suggested.

"True enough" Piandao nodded "Or, he mistook me for my dad"

"What?" Asami said with surprise.

"He used to run with these kinds of guys when he and my uncle first got to Republic City, they may have met or saw each other at one point" Piandao revealed.

"I'm assuming he left?" Asami asked.

"Yeah, just in time too" Piandao said with a sigh as he pulled out the flier that Ping tossed towards them and read it.

Asami glanced down at it with a look of mild disgust. The 'fights' were a perverted mockery of Pro-Bending, at least in her eyes. It was just an excuse for a bunch of hoodlums to get together and beat the ever loving Spirits out of each other for pocket change so they can afford their next Opium fix. Piandao on the other hand read over what the flier said with a small frown on his face before he placed it back in his pocket and looked back out to the talking Triads as his mind kept wandering back to what the flier said.

...

"Hey kiddo, how was work today?" Uncle Bato said as he sat on the stairs to their home, having just returned from an afternoon of job hunting.

"Not too bad" Piandao said as he sat down next to his uncle and ran a hand over his face "The local Triad came by for their 'protection Fee' and stayed to have some meeting with someone"

Bato grunted at this "Which one was it?"

"Triple Threats" Piandao replied with a snort before he glanced at his uncle "Did you and dad use to run with them? One of their guys thought I looked familiar. Could have seen my dad a while back and mistook me for him"

Bato shook his head at this "No, your father and I joined up with a group called the Ice snakes but they broke up years ago. Still, they did do business with the Triple Threats, and your father was brought to some of those meetings. Probably saw him there if he was a part of them back then"

Piandao nodded at this before he glanced back at the house with a sad look on his face "Is Aunt Mai back yet?"

Bato shook his head at this and sighed heavily "No, she's still out. Left a note saying she was gonna try getting work at the nearby hospital as a cleaner or something"

Piandao nodded at this before he pulled out the tip that Asami gave him before she left the shop "Here"

Bato's eyes widened at the sight of the Yuan and carefully took it and started to count it "Where did you get this?"

"One of our new regulars tipped me and the rest of the staff" Piandao said with a chuckle "Apparently, she had no idea that a tip from her was pretty much double our usual salary"

Uncle Bato glanced at Piandao with a disapproving look on his face "You didn't cheat her did you?"

"No, no, she knew she was over tipping but she said it was worth it" Piandao said before he nodded towards the cash in his uncle's hands "You can take Aunt Mai out tonight with that. Maybe that noodle shop you guys love so much"

Bato shook his head in amusement at this "To think the day would come where my own nephew is giving me money to go out with my girl. I can just hear my father laughing at me now"

"Well it's not like I'll be going out with anyone anytime soon" Piandao said as he leaned back and rested his elbows on the wooden stairs "Don't worry, I wont burn the house down. Spirits knows we wouldn't be able to afford the matches to do it"

Uncle Bato smirked at this as he stood up and pocketed the money "That's a relief. I'll surprise her this weekend with a night out. Spirits knows she needs it"

"Not tonight?" Piandao asked with a frown.

Bato shook his head at this "Can't. Several fights later tonight and over the next few nights I'll be helping watch"

"Oh..." Piandao said with a small nod "Right, forgot about those"

"I wish I could too" Bato said with a distant look on his face before he looked down at his nephew and placed a hand on his shoulder "Piandao, know matter how bad things get, promise me you won't get involved with these sorts of things"

"I promise" Piandao said with grin.

"Piandao" Bato said, his face and voice as hard as the ice of his home "I mean it. Do not get involved. Am I clear?"

Piandao's grin fell as he nodded and spoke "I won't. I promise"

"Good" Bato said as he righted himself and started to head back inside "Come kiddo, your Aunt will be home soon and she'll probably be in a bad mood. Last we can try and lighten it up a bit by cooking for her"

"Okay, I'll be in soon" Piandao said as he watched his Uncle enter the house and waited a few seconds before he reached into his pocket and pulled out the flier from earlier and glanced at it. If what his uncle said was true, then this flier for the underground fighting ring was the one his Uncle was going to be working for the next few days. Piandao read over the flier again, the list of times for each fight, who was fighting and whether they were a Bender or not and more specifically, the reward it was offering for the main event.

Twelve Thousand Yuan.

And to get that reward was to go up against the ring's champion, a Earthbender that called himself the 'Crusher' and last three minutes in the ring.

Piandao stared at the flier for a long time as his mind wandered over the pros and cons of going through with what he had in mind. With his abilities, he could beat the guy, he was positive. But there was also the possibility that the fight promoters will think he cheated and if there's one thing the Triads hate, it's being cheated. Still, maybe he dosent have to go all out too much...

"Could put on a bit of a show for them" Piandao said to himself as he picked up the flier and re-read it again "Take a few hits, hope that my improved body can take getting hit with rocks the size of my torso, deal a couple of descent hits and finish it off with that one in a million hit that knocks the guy out cold..."

After a few minutes of mentally debating with himself, Piandao made a decsision.

"Watch out Crusher, there's going to be a new champion" Piandao delcared before he looked down at himself with a contemplative look on his face "As soon as I get a outfit together so no one will recongize me... and maybe learn how to actually fight"

...

* * *

And done.

Next chapter, The match...


	9. Chapter 9

answers to reviewers questions or statements:

 **CRUDEN** : No, he doesn't.

 **Kiden** : Lin's 'seismic scan' doesn't have a range like that and it's not just 'some skill to learn' that kind of thing would take years to master and not every Earthbender is as capable as she and her family are. And if something like that became more widespread, it'd run the risk of being learned by the people she's trying to put away. Kinda hard to catch criminals that can sense you coming before you even get close to them. And who says the Inner Demons are even based in Republic City, plenty of countryside around the city to set up shop, the Equalists were able to establish a airfield of all things outside the city without anyone noticing.

 **Examine Draco** : This Peter will start off as the Spider-man we know and love before events begin to slowly turn him more towards the noir version, not quite like outright killing people, but he won't be the 'Friendly neighborhood Spider-man' forever.

 **Hero100100** : That would make no sense what so ever.

 **Hivedragon** : Peter's suit will be based more off the Spider-Noir suit, it's more fitting for this era.

 **TheGreatGodzilla** : The Avengers are not appearing in this story in any shape or form.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Legend of Korra characters seen, mentioned or used.

* * *

There are a handful of occasions where Piandao felt genuine fear.

Not the kind of fear a person would get when their asked to speak in front of a large group of people or mustering up the courage to talk to someone they had a crush on. No, the kind of fear that Piandao was feeling as he stood before the door that would lead him to the literal underground fighting rings was the kind of fear that a person feels when they know that their next move may very well be their last.

 _'Okay_ _Piandao, relax'_ the dark clothed teen thought to himself as he took a few deep breaths to try and calm his nerves _'There's nothing to be scared of. All that's going to be down there is a bunch of violent criminals with strong ties to the Triads that if they feel slighted will probably have you beheaded and your corpse hung in Kyoshi park like that one guy the other day'_

And that was just the Agni Kais, Spirits only knew what some of the other Triads would do and that was before he got into the more independent fighters that weren't associated with any known Triad.

Piandao took several more deep breaths before he took one last look at his appearance in a nearby puddle. His attire wasn't anything special really, just black pants, a black long sleeve shirt, black boots that were every bit as worn out as some of the prostitutes over in Dragon Flats borough. His face was covered by a simple black mask with a pair of cracked goggles over his eyes that he found by the docks a few nights ago when he went back to further practice with his abilities. They smelled like rust and the left lens was a bit scratched up but they were study enough and will hopefully prevent anyone from trying to poke his eyes out.

 _'Hopefully no one will be able to recognize me'_ Piandao thought, that was his biggest fear.

He could afford to loose a fight or two, but he'd rather not have half of the Triads know who he is and than coming looking for him for whatever slight he gave them, wheatear it was real or not.

After a few more minutes of building up his courage, he stepped through the doorway and began his slow descent down the stairs that will take him to the portion of the long abandoned sewer lines and maintenance tunnels underneath the this part of the city. As he made his way down the stars, he passed a few men and women who were heading back towards the surface, some of them covered in large dark bleeding bruises that caused Piandao to gulp silently as he felt his fear spike briefly. The men brushed past Piandao without a second look while a few of the girls with them each gave the teen a once over, one of them giving Piandao a wink, before they continued on their way.

Piandao watched them go for a second before he shook his head and continued on his way.

After a few more minutes, of making his way down several steep flights of stairs and passing several rooms filled with what looked like gambling dens, he arrived in a massive room that was lined with dozens of pipes running along the walls. The space was large enough to fit an airship and was packed with hundreds of people are going to and from and at the center of the room was a large raised circular stage where Piandao saw two people, both Firebenders, sending blasts of fire at one another as dozens cheered them on.

"Guess this is the place" Piandao muttered as he looked around and saw a few people making their way to a section of the room that was walled off with several guards outside it.

With a shrug, Piandao maneuvered his way through the crowd, ignoring the loud screaming, cheering and numerous people bumping into him and responded with a few less than friendly words. The smell was perhaps the worse, all around him it smelt like he walked into a bar where everyone threw up whatever it was they were drinking. It was also hot, being surrounded by so many people and his long dark clothing and the fighting Firebenders nearby did little to help.

 _'Would it kill these people to add a fan or thirty'_ Piandao thought as he resisted the urge to remove his mask to try and cool himself off as he neared what he hoped was the promoter's office to sign up for the main event tonight.

As he arrived at the office, at least he hoped it was and not some refreshment stand though it wouldn't be unwelcomed at this point, he noticed two men having what appeared to be some sort of disagreement. He couldn't be sure, but the fact that the larger of the two men was grabbing the collar of the shorter man and hoisting him up against the wall may have tipped him off.

 _'I'd make a great detective_ ' Piandao thought dryly as he made to walk by before he heard the short man let out a pained yelp as the bigger one shoved him into the wall again. Sighing, Piandao did his best to ignore the altercation taking place as he tired to find a way inside the office _'It's not your problem, just ignore it. For all you know, the shorter guy owes the bigger guy money'_

As Piandao looked for a way inside, the man's complaints were becoming louder and louder before he was silenced by the larger man slamming his fist into his stomach. Piandao wasn't particularly bothered by this act of violence, he's seen plenty worse at school, but what floored him was that absolutely no one around them was giving the scene any sort of attention!

There were people who were literally standing right next to the scene and yet they were acting as if it wasn't happening at all. A frown formed on Piandao as he glanced back at the two men while his mind seemed to war with itself on what to do. He could step in and stop it, he had the power, more than enough, but every time he stepped in to try and help it always blew up in his face rather spectacularly. And that was just with over privileged students at his school, Spirits knows what the response would be in this crowd.

 _'I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why that's happening'_ Piandao thought as he turned away and took several deep breaths _'Just forget about it Piandao, your here to win money so that you and the people who raised you don't get booted to the streets'_

Just as Piandao took a step towards the office, he heard the man let out a pained yelp as the larger man struck him clear across the face before he seized him by the throat.

 _'...Dammit'_ Piandao thought as he took another step and turned towards the two men and quickly made his way to them, ignoring the little voice in his head telling him to just walk away.

Sometimes Piandao wished he just could.

"Uh excuse me gentlemen" Piandao spoke up as he grew close enough for them to hear him over the hundreds of others in the room.

The larger man turned towards Piandao with a scowl of annoyance while the smaller one turned towards him with a desperate look "The hell you want you brat?"

"Uh, he's uh, he's with me" Piandao said as he rubbed the back of his head nervously with one hand and pointed towards the shorter man in the large man's grip with the other "He's my... manager. For the fighting tonight. He manages me"

"Manager?" the guard said with a frown while the man he was holding nodded his head eagerly.

"Y-Yeah, I'm the kid's manager" he said as he gave Piandao a thankful grin.

The larger man seemed unconvinced "If that's the case, than why did I catch him trying to sneak into the promoter's offices?"

Piandao mentally winced at this "He uh, he wanted to speak with a few of your associates about my match tonight. Just to uh, smooth over any details they may have over looked. Don't want to make tonight's match lame and uneventful, I mean there's quite a bit of money being thrown around tonight"

the large man stated at Piandao while the shorter man finally pried himself out of the larger man's grip and quickly made his way to Piandao's side and nodded eagerly.

"He's right. I mean we're talking hundreds of thousands of Yuans tonight. Wouldn't want that money to go all to waste now, would you?" the man asked with a pointed look towards his would be aggressor "I mean if you do, I'm sure the fine gentlemen running this entire event, particularly the ones backing it, wont mind having both their money and time wasted"

At this the larger man's glare lessened and was replaced with a hint of unease "N-No... they wouldn't"

"Than skedaddle before I decide to mention this to the promoters that I'm about to meet" the man threatened while Piandao nodded.

"Yeah, what he said" the teen said as he folded his arms across his chest "Come to think of it, you have a pretty memorable face"

"Very memorable" the short man agreed, much to the larger one's increasing unease before he turned on his heel and quickly made his way into the crowd.

Piandao watched him go before he turned towards the short man and winced at the state of his face, it was covered in a few bruises and he seemed to be missing a few teeth "Sorry I couldn't help you sooner"

The short man waved Piandao's apology off with a pained laugh "Bah it's fine. I wasn't in any serious trouble with him. Worse came to worse I would've just blasted him back with some fire"

"Your a firebender?" Piandao said with surprise as he took in the man's appearance.

He was dressed mostly in dark red and brown clothing with some sort of mesh like material around his arms and upper legs. His hands, he noticed were covered in brown gloves that looked like they've seen better days.

"Yeah" the man said as he held a hand up and summoned a small flame before he extinguished it "But I promised my boss that I wouldn't draw any attention to myself while I'm here"

"And your here for...?" Piandao probed.

The short man's grin fell as he took in Piandao's appearance before answering "Don't worry about it kid. Your better off not knowing"

 _'Well that's reassuring'_ Piandao thought dryly before he shook his head "Well, happy to help. Now if you excuse me, I gotta go sign up for the main event tonight"

"Heh, hoping to take on the Crusher and win?" the man asked with a snort.

"No, I was hoping to give him a big hug and maybe ask him for a back massage" Piandao said with an eye roll.

"Well either way, good luck kid, something tells me your gonna need it" the man said with a grin as he turned on his heel and made his way back into the crowd to do whatever it was he was trying to do beforehand when he was caught.

Piandao watched him go for a moment before he shrugged and headed for fight promoter's office to let them know he wanted a shot at the Crusher. Thankfully it was far easier than he thought it'd be, all he had to do was literally right his name, he used a fake one that he literally made up on the spot because he was not that stupid to use his actual name, down on a piece of paper saying he wanted to take on the Crusher for the main event. After that, it was simply a matter of waiting half an hour in some kind of small, dark lounge as the ring was set up and a fight promoter came by to let Piandao know what to expect in his upcoming fight.

"So kid, what do you know about these kinds of fights?" the man asked as he stared down at Piandao.

"Uhh, it usually involves fighting other people" Piandao answered with some confusion "Usually in some kind of handicap match. Like Benders vs non-benders"

The man nodded at this "That's about the jest of it. Your also aware that these things can be to the death, right?"

"...Yeah" Piandao nodded with unease _'Hopefully it won't come to that. Just get a good solid punch in and boom I'm several thousand Yuan richer'_

"And your also aware that if you try to cheat us, we'll find you... right?" the man asked with narrowed eyes and a growl in his voice that caused Piandao to gulp in fear.

"Y-Yes..." he muttered with a nod.

"Good, just so we're clear" the man said with a grin before he patted Piandao on the shoulder "Try not to die too quick, I get seventy Yuan that you'll last at least two minutes"

"I'll... keep that in mind" Piandao said as the man laughed and headed for the door, leaving the teen there with even more unease than before.

' _Oh_ _Piandao, what have you gotten yourself into?'_ the teen asked himself as he looked down at his hands _'I mean your about to enter a freakin fight against an Earthbender that's out to kill you just because he can!'_

Still, he couldn't quit now, not unless he wanted himself and his Aunt and Uncle to end up in some back alley fighting to stay warm and find just enough food to not go hungry. Eventually a man came to collect Piandao and escort him to the ring that was still being set up for his upcoming match. The young teen spotted a few men being carried away, their faces bloodied, bruised and broken in ways that he wondered if even the Avatar could fix them.

 _'Well if I lose, at least I wont have to worry about people recognize me... won't be much of a face left'_ Piandao thought as he saw a few people climb on to ring with buckets of water and mops and proceed to clean off the bloodstains scattered across it's rocky surface _'At least their sanitary...'_

He'd rather not fight in a ring that was still covered in blood thank you very much.

After a few minutes of waiting for the cleaners to finish their job and add more stone, dirt and general earth to the ring for Piandao's Earthbending opponent, and dozens more people arriving to watch the main event, the man escorting Piandao gestured for him to hop into the ring before he disappeared back into the crowd that had grown to well over several hundred at least. Piandao has never seen so many people crammed into a single space like this and couldn't help but feel a bit of Claustrophobia hit him.

 _'Just ignore the hundreds of people watching you_ _Piandao, just pretend they aren't all there to watch you either win this thing or watch you get the ever loving crap kicked out of you'_ Piandao thought as he tired to steady his nerves as what he assumed was either the referee or announcer hop into the wing as a microphone was lowered down for him to take and begin speaking into it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, welcome. I'm pleased to see so many people turn out for tonight's entertainment! And tonight its a very special night as the winning pot will be over Sixty Thousand Yuan!" the man said as he walked around the ring with a skip in his step as the crowd cheered.

Piandao's eyes widened at this _'S-Sixty thousand Yuan?!'_

That was a lot more than he thought the winnings was going to be originally... a lot more.

 _'Hell, with that kind of money, we could move to a better part of the city and maybe even get a Satomobile'_ Piandao thought as the announcer continued to go and on as he made his way over to the young Parkah.

"So, what's your name gonna be kid?" the announcer said, covering the mike so his and Piandao's conversation "Your dressed for the part"

Piandao's eyes widened under his goggles "Uhhh… I- do I need one? I don't remember reading that I do"

"You need something for the crowd to call you cause kid, I looked at the paper you signed and I can already tell your name isn't Fluffy the Second" the man said dryly.

"Oh..." Peter said as he tried to think of an name to be called over the loud cheering crowd "Uh, how about the... Man-Spider?"

"That sucks" the announcer said with a shake of his head.

"Human Spider?" Piandao suggested with a wince.

"Spirits kid, can you not think of a good name?" the man said with an incredulous expression on his face "Also, why the hell do you keep putting spider in it? What you got like eight eyes or something?

Piandao rubbed the back of his head "Well no but your putting me on the spot right now. If I knew before hand I needed a legit name I would have come up with a better one!"

"Okay fine, fine" the announcer said as he studied Piandao's attire for a second before he shook his head and mumbled something under his breath before he uncovered the mike and began to speak "Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together fooooor… THE SPIDER!"

"Really, the Spider?" Piandao said in a dry tone that was drowned out by the crowd's various boos and laughter at the name "That's the best he could come up with?"

Before Piandao could give the name any more thought, the lights drifted towards the doorway that the Crusher emerged from and all thoughts of an easy victory were promptly crushed as Piandao took in the Earthbender's appearance. He stood a good foot and a half taller than Piandao and looked like he was nothing but pure muscle and power, his arms alone were so large that the young non-bender wondered if he'd be even able to fit both hands around the limb.

 _'Ohhhhh crap'_ Piandao thought with wide eyes as the Crusher grinned darkly at Piandao as he stepped into the ring and eye him up and down before he scoffed.

"I'm fighting him tonight? This boy looks a few meals away from being considered a corpse!" he said in a loud tone, causing a lot of people to laugh.

Piandao's eye twitched at the insult as the announcer stood back and made a gesture to a few of the stage hands before he resumed speaking "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we bring you a special event. The all time winning champion, The Crusher, will be defending his title in a no bars held Iron Match!"

The crowd's yelling grew even louder, causing Piandao to wince at the volume before he noticed several people gather around the ring he and the Crusher were in. Before the young teen could figure out what they were doing, they suddenly began to lift bars of metal out of the ground with metal bending. The metal benders slowly had the bars bend and turn until they encompassed the whole ring in a cage that reminded Piandao of a bird cage.

"Uh-oh" Piandao said with wide eyes under his goggles as he looked around to see that there was no way out, the space between the bars too small for him to fit his torso through.

The Crusher seemed to notice Piandao's unease and began to laugh loudly "Heh, what's wrong little bug? Scared?"

Piandao turned back towards the much larger man with a scowl as he placed his hands on his hips "What me, scared? What's there to be scared of? All I am is locked in a big rusty cage with a big buff shirtless man that likes to 'wrestle' with other shirtless men and thinks Crusher is a intimidating name when in reality it sounds like the name of that new flavored fruit juice they have at the local market"

The Crusher's eyes narrowed at this and Piandao noticed a vein beginning to pulse on the man's forehead as the announcer stepped between them and gave them both a grin that was the very opposite of friendly in Piandao's opinion.

"Alright boys, I want a fairly descent fight tonight, that means no cheap shops if you can help it" he said as he glanced back and forth "Agreed?"

"Sure" Piandao nodded while the Crusher simply kept glairing at him.

"Good" the announcer said with a grin as he stepped back and made a hand signal to someone nearby that the match was ready to start.

Piandao jumped at the sudden loud bell 'ding' he heard from somewhere behind him, he wasn't quite expecting that. The Crusher laughed at Piandao's reaction for a moment before he suddenly shifted his foot and several chunks of stone the size of Peter's head were sent flying towards him.

"Whoa!" Piandao said as he ducked under the high speed rocks that shattered against the cage wall behind him.

The crowd cheered at the Crusher's first attempt at a hit as Piandao straightened himself back up to glare at the Crusher as he slammed his feet into the ground again and held his hands out and sent several more stones towards him, these ones as large as Piandao's torso.

 _'This may be a little harder than I thought'_ Piandao thought as he did his best to dodge the large chunks of earth as he tried to maneuver around the ring and get closer to the Crusher, all it would take was one or two good hits from him and the match would be over.

Though given the size of the Crusher and the fact he kept moving around to keep his distance from Piandao, the teen was finding that harder and harder to pull off.

' _What I wouldn't give to be able to shoot webs like a spider. Be pretty useful here'_ Piandao thought with a sigh before his danger sense, he really needed to settle on a name before tonight was over, flared and he just managed to leap off the ring and stick to the side of the cage as a long sharp pillar of stone erupted from the ground.

Piandao paled at the sight of it as he realized that had he not moved when he did, the stone pillar would have gone right up into his groin. He turned towards the Crusher's smirking form with a glare "Hey, the guy said no cheap shots!"

"I never agreed!" the Crusher said as he made a few movements with his hands and Piandao felt the metal cage he was attached to begin to shake.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me" Piandao said before he let go of the cage just as the metal shook and attempted to grab his hands and feet.

The Crusher scowled at his failed attempt to grab the shorter man "Stand still you little weasel!"

Piandao couldn't help but roll his eyes as he spoke in possibly the most sarcastic tone he's ever spoken ever "Oh sure, what a grand idea. Let me just stand perfectly still so you can hit me, I mean it's not like this is a fight or anything where the goal is to avoid getting hit or something!"

The Crusher growled as he slammed both his hands into the ground and sent a ripple of earth out in every direction. Piandao crouched low before he leaped up and grabbed the ceiling of the cage they were in while the announcer slash referee was sent flying into the wall of the cage by the Crusher's attack. The Earthbender looked up at Piandao with a glare as he ripped his hands out of the cracked ground, a chunk of earth in each hand, and threw them towards Piandao with a yell.

"Yikes" Piandao said as he dropped down from the ceiling, contorting his body in ways that he never knew he could until that exact moment.

The Crusher watched as Piandao touched the ground and suddenly smirked as he twisted his ankle and brought his hands together. Piandao quirked a brow at this before he felt the ground underneath him rumble. Suddenly slabs of stone emerged from the ground and quickly entrapped Piandao in a tight embrace, causing his danger sense to flare.

 _'Oh now you go off'_ Piandao thought with a groan as he struggled to break out ' _Why the hell couldn't you go off when he started to move?!'_

"Heh, got ya" the Crusher said with a dark grin as he had the makeshift prison tighten, causing Piandao to yelp in pain as the stone began to dig into his sides and arms.

 _'Okay, this is not good'_ Piandao thought as he tried to move but instead caused the rough stone to dig even further into his skin ' _So very, very, very not good'_

"Aww, nothing smart to say you filthy little non-bending trash?" the Crusher taunted.

"G-Give me a second... it h-hurts to t-t-talk..." Piandao groaned as it felt like the bones in his arms were starting to crack with how much pressure were being put on them.

The Crusher snorted as he had the stone continue to slowly crush Piandao as he turned his attention tot he cheering crowd.

 _'You know... I'm starting to see why he's called the Crusher'_ Piandao thought as he tried to push back against the stone prison ' _Come on you stupid stone, just freakin break already!'_

Piandao took several deep breaths before he let out a growl as he exerted every bit of strength he had in attempt to break free of his prison before it began to actually crush him. At first nothing happened but after a few more seconds, Piandao's ears picked up the tell, tell sounds of stone starting to crack and he felt his arms and legs gaining more room to move. The Crusher, alerted to Piandao's escape attempt by the sound of stone breaking, turned back to smirk at the teen only for it to drop as he saw numerous cracks appear across the surface of the earth prison he made before it suddenly exploded outward, sending bits of stone and dirt flying throughout the ring.

"The fuck?" the Crusher said with wide eyes as Piandao stumbled out of the now broken rock cage and brushed some of the dirt and dust off before he scowled at the Earthbender.

"Dude, do you have any idea how long it's going to take me to wash this? I'm gonna be having bits of rock poking me in places for weeks!" Piandao asked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out small stone before he tossed it over his shoulder.

The Crusher stared at Piandao with wide eyes before they narrowed as he let out an enraged yell and sent several slabs of stone towards him. The young teen watched as they flew towards him at blurring speeds and just barely managed to duck under the flying stone. He than sprinted towards the Crusher, dodging several more stones thrown towards him before he fell and slid tot he ground and went right between the Crusher's legs, causing the men to turn just in time for Piandao to send both his feet into the taller man's chest, knocking him back several feet.

"Gaaaah!" he yelled as he wrapped his arms around his chest while Piandao climbed back to his feet.

"What's wrong Crusher?" Piandao asked with a snicker "Crushed that you couldn't crush me? get it, because your the Crusher, you tried to crush me but by escaping I 'crushed' your-"

"I'm gonna rip your fucking head off!" the Crusher roared as he charged towards Piandao with a yell.

"Yeah I think you got it" Piandao said as he side stepped the Crusher's punch before ducking under the next and just barely able to back peddle away from the man's follow up with a kick.

The Crusher seemed to grow eve more angered at Piandao's remarks than the fact he couldn't land a hit on him and tried to grab him in a bear hug before Piandao lashed out with a fist and struck the man clear across the face. The force of the blow snapped the Crusher's head to the side and caused him to stumble back in shock, cupping his face. He rubbed it for a second, wincing at the shift of bone underneath the shin before he turned to grab the boy when he saw he was nowhere to be seen. The Crusher blinked in surprise as he looked up to see if his opponent was up there before he felt someone tap his shoulder from behind.

"Hey, behind you" Piandao whispered, causing the Crusher to turn just in time for Piandao's fist to make it's mark into the man's face, knocking several teeth loose and sending the Crusher flying across the ring and into the cage with enough force to cause it to shake.

Everyone was silent as they stared at the ring, not a single person so much as whispering as they stared at the scene before them, the Crusher on the ground with blood leaking from his face and the one that did that standing there.

"What the hell?" someone in the back of the crowd said before numerous others began to mutter to themselves, some asking if what they saw had happened, others wondering if this was all some poor joke.

Piandao watched as the announcer went over to the Crusher and placed a hand on his shoulder and shook it to see if the man would get up. Piandao hoped he was alright, he'd rather not have to explain to his Aunt and Uncle why he was going to prison. Then again, given the illegal nature of this entire thing, they might not report it. After a few seconds the Crusher made some sort of noise that seemed to satisfy the announcer before the man stood up and backed away as the large Earthbender climbed back to his feet, his body swaying side to side as he spat out more blood and a few broken chipped teeth that caused Piandao to wince.

"L-Lucky hit" the man groaned as he brought up his hands and tried to take a strep forward before he fell to his knees and just barely caught himself from falling face first into the ground.

Piandao blinked at the man before he glanced at the announcer who shrugged in response. The young non-bender nodded at this and proceeded to make his way over to the large man before coming to a stop in front of him and watched as the Earthbender looked up at him with unfocused eyes.

"No, that wasn't a lucky hit" Piandao grinned under his mask as he held up a hand "This is"

And with a flick of his fingers to the man's forehead, he sent the crusher flying to the ground with a heavy 'thud' followed by a pained groan. Piandao watched as the Crusher made a few more pained sounds but failed to get back up, leaving the announcer to blink before he brought the microphone back to his mouth as he made his way over to Piandao.

"And the winner is ladies and gentlemen... thhhhhhe Spider!"

At this the crowd broke out into a mixture of cheers and 'boos' the latter being the ones who betted against Piandao at the beginning and were now losing out on their cash.

 _'So this is what it feels like to be a winner...'_ Piandao thought as he waved at the crowd as several hands came out to break down the cage.

He could get used to this.

...

Below the ring, Bato couldn't help the small grin from climbing it's way on to his face as he heard the echoes of the crowd above. Whoever just fought had taken a number of the attending people by surprise and costed even more some serious coin. Hopefully no one will get too upset tonight from whatever it was that got everyone upstairs in a uproar.

 _'Be nice to have a quiet night for a change. I hate to imagine what'll happen if I show up at home with another black eye or split lip for Mai to see'_ Bato thought with a tired grin as he waited for his relief to come before he noticed someone approaching him.

This struck Bato as odd given that the only ones that were supposed to be down here were security and Bato didn't recognize the man. He was dressed in red and brow clothing with these off mesh looking pieces attached to his arms and legs. He was rather strange looking and his face looked like he went a few rounds with a Komodo Rhino and lost.

"Can I help you?" Bato asked as his hand drifted to his club.

"Oh me?" the man said with a grin "That depends, do you know where I am currently? I made a few wrong turns and now I'm here"

"Your below the rings" Bato said with a frown as he eyed the man up and down, looking for signs of weapons though if the man was a bender it really wouldn't matter much either way.

The man hummed as he looked around with a frown before he returned his attention back to Bato "Eh, I guess that's good enough"

"Good enough for what?" Bato asked, a sense of unease creeping into him as he stared into the man's eyes.

There was something unnerving about them, something dark.

"To shock people" the man chuckled.

"Shock?" Bato said with confusion.

"Yeah, shock, because people call me the Shocker. Cause I tend to do a lot of things that shock people" the man said with a snicker, casuing Bato to frown at the man as he slowly tightened his grip on his club and prepared to swing it at the man.

"And how do you go about doing that" Bato asked carefully as the man held up a gloved hand and began to remove it with the othert before showing his palm to the older man.

Bato against his better judgement glanced down at the palm and furrowed his brow in confusion at the odd eye tattoo that stared back up at him "What is-?"

His words were cut off as a small beam of superheated explsoive energy erupted from the odd man's palm and flew right into him...

...

* * *

And done.

Next chapter, The Shocker...


End file.
